


Twice As Far

by Lananiuska



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 64,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25707307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lananiuska/pseuds/Lananiuska
Summary: Other than living in a world that was falling apart, they didn’t have much in common. But when destiny puts them together in situations they have nothing but themselves to pull through, they begin to see that there could be more to them than just being two survivors.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Comments: 70
Kudos: 62





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Prompt Week, and it's written after the prompt of 'The Walking Dead meets OQ', the request (personal) is about Robin and Regina being in the same group of survivors, but the catch is that they don't exactly get along or even know each other so much. That will of course change when they get separated from their people and have to be on their own for a while.
> 
> Now, if you are not familiar with TWD, don't even worry because it will not be a crossover, it will just be loosely inspired by it (S6,14). To get a bit of back history on this, let's just say that the characters have been living with the zombies (walkers) for almost one year and half, so they are basically pretty much settled in this new reality and are mostly dealing with life after the world ended. As for OQ, they have been in the same group for at least six months. They (groups that ended together) all met on the road and went through the usual zombie apocalypse struggles; they lost people, faced many hardships, and in some cases, made some bonds; all until they eventually found a community to settle in peace. The thing is, that not all of them found that sense of peace in Storybrooke… no, because some of them, are just struggling to fit in.
> 
> There will be some violence, and people will die. But not any big character so far.

_'Wake the hell up and face your fears.'_

With her arms firmly crossed over her chest and her lips set into an angry pout that could easily be perceived as one of her infamous petulant gestures, the woman known as Regina Mills looked out through the windshield of the beat up truck she was riding with her two companions, and as her eyes settled to an undefined spot along the scenery, those words kept dancing inside her head.

_'Wake… the hell… up...'_

For reasons she couldn't quite comprehend, the words kept bouncing inside her skull, repeating themselves over and over again like a broken disc she couldn't stop. It was kind of weird, because of all the things Mary Margaret told her that day, of all the things that had some truth to them, that she was too afraid to face her own shit was the one she wouldn't agree with.

That she pushed everyone away and acted all bitter with the world? Yes, and why wouldn't she when the world was apparently set against her. That she was stupid? Most definitely; she also had a chip on her shoulder and was not settling so well among the rest of the group; but that she was afraid? nah, she didn't think so.

She was actually one of the only survivors in their community who wouldn't hesitate on walking out of the comforts of their little houses and their little fenced gardens to face the harsh reality of what lived outside their gates, which was a world where the dead was no longer dead but the enemy.

It was a hard reality, sickening, hard to grasp, but she wasn't afraid of it, and she sure as hell wasn't trying to hide from it like most people were doing. She was also not afraid of fighting or of killing walkers either, so what Mary Margaret said was way off base. And yet, those words were the ones that wouldn't go away.

_'Wake… up'_

For the longest time, that was all she did, think about what she was told and sit in the middle of Robin and Mary Margaret as they made their way back to Storybrooke, bumping shoulders with the two of them as the truck jerked with each reckless change of gear.

It was rather annoying, how this man couldn't drive stick for shit, but as it happened, no one commented on it. In fact the ride was made without any of them exchanging a word, and even Mary Margaret who was usually in a chatty mood, was contributing to the ongoing silence.

Not that she blamed anyone for that, after all, with the way the other woman and herself kind of got at each other's throat back at the drugstore, spirits were heated and emotions were still running a bit high.

At least from her part.

It was not her fault though, because the way she saw it, things wouldn't have taken such a sour tone if it wasn't because Mary Margaret almost got them all killed.

She has been careless, she didn't listen when Robin tried to tell her what not to do and she didn't give a damn when she called her out for it. Oh, because she did, she set it upon herself to give the woman a harsh reality check that was meant to put some senses into that pretty little head of hers...

Little did she know that the doctor wannabe was going to have the audacity to turn things around and start going off on her.

At the end, they told each other a few things that have been brewing between them for a while, Mary Margaret calling her off for her apparent nasty attitude and her fear of opening up to the people who were supposed to be her new family, and Regina bursting her bubble of rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers because by God, for someone who has survived a world that would put stone after stone in her way, Mary Margaret was such an optimistic fool, one that should never, set foot outside of Storybrooke again.

She should have known this before agreeing to escort her out but there she was, surviving yet another walker attack, unscratched.

It wasn't until they reached their community and Robin killed the engine right outside the gates, that the silence was broken. It was of course, Mary Margaret the one who did it.

"Well since neither of you will say it, I'll do it, I'll say this was a productive day. We did good."

Instead of making reference to the medicine they were able to find or even the few provisions they brought back, the woman lifted the stupid bar of chocolate she almost died for and flashed a huge silly smile their way.

Regina just stared at her angrily, not even sure if she should reply to that because for crying out loud, the probably stale piece of shit was the cause Mary Margaret stupidly decided it was a good idea to jump over the pharmacy counter, breaking the the glass into a thousand pieces and thus attracting at least a dozen walkers into the store.

It almost got them all killed, thing that Regina would forever blame on the other woman because she did that after she was told to stay still without touching anything.

So was she still angry? Hell yes. Angry at the woman, and more so, angry with herself, because she almost let the closest thing to a doctor they had die over a chocolate bar.

Not only that, but wheter she was willing to admit it or no, Mary Margaret was one of the people she knew longer in their group so as annoying as the short-haired woman could be, the thought of loosing her over such a stupid thing rubbed her in all the wrong places.

"Are you seriously going to shove that thing in my face?" Regina asked at last.

Mary Margaret, probably sensing how Regina was a minute away from going off on her again, turned all serious.

"Anyway, I'm going to… you know, go now." Saying nothing more, the doctor apprentice climbed out of the truck and headed straight into Storybrooke, walking happily as if she almost didn't have them all killed by a small herd of walkers.

Regina just watched her, shaking her head because really, the woman has been so damn reckless out there that it was no wonder David never wanted her out of the safety of the fenced and gated community they built for themselves.

"Can you believe this woman? I don't know what I was thinking when I said yes to this."

"You and I both, this run was bloody stupid." Listening to the man's marked up English accent, Regina agreed as she watched her go.

But anyway, shaking her head as if to clear it of any kind of thought and hopefully, from any kind of ill mood, Regina blew out a breath and leaned forward to reach for her backpack. It was resting between her boots and once she reached it, she opened it and took a plastic bag containing at least the dozen small bottles of booze she found earlier on.

They were all of the cheap kind and quite honestly, bad, but when the world ended and everything as you knew it went to hell, you just had to take whatever you could get. And right in that moment, the thought of dulling her senses by getting drunk out of her mind on crappy alcohol didn't sound so bad.

"Well… despite all the nonsense and almost getting wiped off for good, at least I got myself a little treat."

"Let me see."

Robin, who much like herself was still sitting inside the cabin of the truck, moved a hand in her direction to take the bag; but before he could reach it, Regina pulled it back to her chest.

"Uh-uh, finders keeper." She looked at him, taking special notice of the way he arched an eyebrow as he looked at her and yes, it crossed her mind right there that she wouldn't mind a companion to get totally wasted with.

Sure, on any other day, this mysterious English man wouldn't be her first pick as she wouldn't say she knew him that well, but what the hell? He was there and he wasn't so bad.

"I can share though, if you are up for it." After saying that Regina climbed out and walked to the back of the truck, her intentions to hop onto the cargo bed and just sit there. She wasn't in the mood of seeing anyone inside and since there was no threat of walkers nearby, she was going to indulge.

Once settled, she opened the bag and started rummaging. Now, much to her surprise, because she hasn't been so sure he was going to join her, Robin hopped in soon after her and without saying a word, he took a bottle of his own. By the time she opened her first one and took a gulp, Robin was already ahead.

But she could catch up… or at least she was going to try. With that in mind, she sucked it up and went for it.

Grimacing at the way the fiery liquor burned a path from her throat to her stomach, Regina looked at the label of what she just tasted. It was rum, and because she wasn't much for drinking straight liquor, she shivered at the strong sensation invading all of her senses.

It was a momentary thing, then without thinking it too much, she took another gulp. This one went down easier.

It didn't take long for her to finish the first small bottle, and even though she could already feel the effects of the alcohol running throughout her entire body, she opened a second one and inspected the label. This one was vodka.

"The medicine was a good find." She said absentmindedly, thinking that when MM first suggested they should go out and find it, she thought it was the worst idea ever. First because she couldn't see the three of them working together and second, because she has been so sure that Robin was going to say no to the request and she was going to end up babysitting Mary Margaret by herself. But now that the mission was accomplished and her sour mood was dissipating, she was kind of glad they did it.

It wasn't much, sure, but going out and finding things the community needed, beat the hell out of just staying indoors watching time simply pass her by.

She wouldn't know how to put it into words, but despite the troubles they faced because of MM, in a way she has been part of something that contributed for a common cause and that made her feel good, it made her feel as if she was doing something that mattered.

True, she got her ass chewed by Mary Margaret as a response to how she angrily went off on her for putting them in such great danger, but that part didn't matter anymore.

Now, going out of Storybrooke to look for provisions the way she did has never crossed her mind before, but now that she had the experience, she could see how doing it gave her a purpose, one that couldn't be fulfilled by taking shifts, teaching people how to fight with knives or just sitting by waiting for time to keep moving forward. No, she wasn't made for that kind of life, not after all she has lived through; so, the more she thought about it, the more sure she was that she wasn't made to stay in Storybrooke, at least not in this point of her life.

What could she say? She was suffocating in there; she didn't want to go on group dinners and movie nights and play pretend that the world outside wasn't falling to pieces, she didn't want to spend her days planting seeds and baking cookies like most of the other women were doing and most definitely, she wasn't made for turning a blind eye to Samdi and Drizella parading around as if they were Queen and King of Story-fucking-brooke.

Hell no.

"Yeah it was." That was Robin's short reply and she didn't try to add more to it. She just sat and drank from the new bottle, each swallow making her think that yes, she should start going on runs. There was so much she could find out there, so much she could do...

"I think I want to stay out here. Go on runs, scavenge… I can even make a map of what's nearby and see how it could benefit us."

"Is that what you really want or is the booze talking for you?" Robin asked without taking a look at her, he was apparently too busy inspecting the label of one of the bottles.

Sending a sideway glance his way, Regina snorted. She did feel a bit funny but not enough to say she was letting alcohol talk. No, her mind was clear. "That's what I want, I guess. I just know I don't want to be back in."

Shrugging, Robin finished another bottle before throwing it away. "Trust me, it's better in there than out here. There's not only walkers roaming around, you know?"

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Regina looked at him, trying to remember how much time had the man spent inside Storybrooke. That she could remember, ever since they found that safe haven, almost none, as he was always out doing something.

Clearing the fields, hunting, making runs… you name it, because whatever was needed from outside Storybrooke's fences, Robin was always the one to get them.

Hell, he didn't even stop going out when he and Will were ambushed by another group of survivors and had everything stolen. Guns, Robin's crossbow, both their bikes.

"And yet you keep going out."

"It's better for you, not for me."

Her eyebrows rose and her lips curved into a grimace. "Why, because I'm a woman and I'm better off cooking your dinners? I can take good care of myself out here, you know? Better than most of the men we have back there and you saw that today; so tell me again, why is it better for me being stuck there?"

Apparently not even bothered by her small rant, Robin simply shrugged. "I'll tell you this, keep mixing your booze like that and you'll regret it in the morning."

As if in defiance, Regina drank a bit more.

Didn't he know that she didn't need alcohol to regret the things she did? Smiling to herself, she shook her head no. Of course he didn't know, he didn't know her like at all: she didn't even know him that well either and if it wasn't because Mary Margaret thought it was a good idea that the two of them should be her chaperones for her little adventure, they wouldn't even be out there drinking together.

Yeah, they have been in the same group for a little over six months now, but she couldn't remember the two of them ever doing anything by themselves, and the brief interactions they had were definitely not enough to consider him more than a travel companion. Sure, an important integrant of their group, but not someone she was close with.

She did like him though, as far as she could tell he was an okay guy, and even though he came a little rough around the edges sometimes, he was the kind that would go out of his way to make sure every single person of their group was safe.

"You know what we should do? We should go out and look for your things, the ones that were taken from you. I mean… you look weird without your crossbow and let's face it, driving stick isn't your strongest point. You need your bike back."

"Well look at that, you didn't strike me as a funny drunk but here you are pulling jokes on me." The corners of his lips twisted the slightest bit as he said that and she did nothing but stare; it was the first time she saw him do something like that and she almost did a double take.

Now, did she react like that because she was drunk? Not quite, but she was perhaps a little tipsy and her tongue did feel a little heavy as she talked.

Not that she was going to tell him that she wasn't yet past her drinking comfort zone, as experience told her that if a man thought you were drunk, you should play along, so in case he tried to pull something weird, he wouldn't count on you being alert.

Not that she believed he was going to try something, as he didn't seem like that kind of guy; but still, there were things that stuck with you even after the world went to shit and being that kind of alert was one of them.

But back to the man sitting by her side, Regina hummed as she watched him. She didn't know him… never even tried to. She just knew that he mostly stuck with his original group of Little John, Mulan and Will, and that while he and David also became close, it was a companionship based on necessity.

Robin was good with a crossbow, and his willingness to take on the tasks nobody else would take, made him quickly become a huge asset in the group.

Other than that, she didn't know much. She knew he lost someone… but then again, didn't they all?

Narrowing her eyes, her mind began to wonder and probably because her judgement was starting to become a bit impaired, she decided that yes, she wanted a sneak peak of who was really Robin Locksley.

"And what kind of drunk are you?"

"The asshole kind, not quite there yet though."

Regina looked down at the empty bottles by his side. There were three and then there was the one in his hand; she was still on her number two so he definitely held his drinking better than her. "Rumor has it you are an asshole when sober, and you can't be the same when both drunk and sober."

Shrugging, he tilted his face towards her and their eyes met. From up close and with the sun still shining bright, she could see that his eyes were a pretty shade of blue and for some reason that took her aback. She hadn't noticed those eyes until that moment and she was going to assume that it was because she hasn't been so close to him before, at least not looking directly to his face. No, whenever they were in the same place at the same time, it was always from certain distance and well, it was hard to see his face from afar, but from up close, it was hard not to get entranced by his stare.

"From what I've heard, you are no ray of sunshine either."

Dragged back to reality, Regina arched an eyebrow and nodded her appreciation to that comeback. "Touché, I'll drink to that." Finishing the vodka and reaching for another small bottle, she went on. "But still, I don't know if I'm ready to see you turn into a full asshole drunk. It will take momentum from my place as a happy drunk and I'm not ready."

"You won't, I'm not even halfway there." But even as he said that, he took another bottle and gulped it down. He did it without flinching, but when he made no attempt of grabbing more alcohol she knew that he was done for the day. "You know what, I do want my stuff back and a one on one with the asshole who took it, but that track is long cold. He and his woman have my bike and Will's and a huge advantage, so for all I know, he's all the way to New York right now."

"We can make it as far as Canada if we want to." And wouldn't that be something?

"New York… the place must be full of walkers now."

Clearing her throat, the brunette moved her head away and settled her eyes up to the skies, thinking that being out there doing anything at all, sounded better than whatever she could do in Storybrooke. As for going with Robin? Well, they did good earlier that day so they could become a good team. Maybe she could even snatch him from Will so they could do their own runs.

Yeah, she knew they would probably never make it as far as New York, not with the roads blocked and infected with walkers, but they could be out and about looking for things.

He definitely knew how to handle himself out there and since she wasn't so bad herself, they could do whatever they wanted to.

"I think we should do it now. Like, we should go and just do it. Go as far as we can go, maybe we'll get lucky and find your things." Yes, she wanted to leave now...

"Right now?"

"You got anything better to do?" Her face turned back towards his and for some reason she smiled.

He didn't return the smile but as if considering it, he chewed on the inside of his lips. "Not a bloody damn thing. Alright, let me go get a couple of things." Jumping out and getting down to the ground, Robin walked to the gate and made it inside.

It took Regina more than normal to get out of the back of the truck to climb into the cabin and she started to wonder if she was drunk and in denial. She probably was, Robin too because otherwise, they wouldn't even consider what they were about to do. But because she didn't want to waste time thinking, she hurried as much as she could.

As for getting a few things of her own? In her wobbly legs she knew she wouldn't make it inside without making a show so she would have to do with what she brought for the initial run. She could do okay with it, she has packed the essentials to be out for at least a couple of days and she was going to trust Robin to get them some provisions. Whatever she could need later on would have to be found on the road.

Robin didn't take too long to come back and she didn't even check what he got, but when he threw her way a bag of pretzels snacks and a bottle of water, she reached for them.

"If we are going to do this, you gotta eat that. Can't have you shit-faced, it makes you slow and stupid and I can't have that."

Rolling her eyes, she glanced at him as he started the engine. "Don't be an asshole, I'm fine.'

"Eat it." He said almost in a growl, then in a matter of nothing they were driving away.

For a while they rode it in silence, Regina eating in small bites and sipping water while he focused on the road ahead; but when she noticed that the truck no longer jerked whenever he changed gears she snickered. "So all you needed to drive this thing right was a little bit of alcohol in your system."

"Shut up." There was no harshness on his tone and because he used his free hand to reach for a couple of salty pretzels, she was going to say none was intended.

Humming, she slid closer to the window and rolled it down, letting the breeze sweep around her and barely noticing the few walkers roaming along the road. She rarely ever did now, as they and their slow movements were now as much part of the scenery, as the trees and vegetation growing wild all around.

She wasn't sure for how long she just did that, but she did know that by the time dusk started to creep in, she was starting to need a bathroom break.

"So is that old boyfriend of yours the reason you don't want to be back in Storybrooke?"

Turning to him, she saw that he was looking at her curiously. It was for a few seconds only, then he was back at paying attention to the road ahead.

Now she wasn't going to lie, the question caught her by surprise and she didn't know what to answer.

"Is that what you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked."

Pursing her lips, the brunette crossed her arms to her chest. "I know everybody thinks I'm salty because he kicked me to the curb and I don't know, maybe I am, but not because I wanted to keep him. He's an asshole and we were definitely not going to last long anyway."

And they weren't, their fallout started way before Drizella came into the picture, but for some reason, they just stuck together anyway. Maybe it was a way to combat loneliness or whatever, but it wasn't because they were head over heels for each other. Yes, he has meant something to her because he taught her everything she knew about surviving, but that didn't take from the fact that she knew they were doomed almost from the beginning.

They were two bulls clashing horns, and that was not a good base to carry on a relationship.

"I think it's more like my ego got bruised. I mean nobody wants the person you are supposed to be with tell you he only got with you because there was nobody else available."

"Shut up, he told you that?"

Wondering why she was telling him all that, Regina licked her lips. They were not even friends and in the first and longest conversation they ever had, she was already telling him things she has told nobody else. But it was what it was and be it because of the alcohol or because she needed some kind of closure, she went on.

"He did." Sure, those weren't exactly the words he used but it was what he meant.

"What a piece of shit."

"It doesn't matter now. That was a long time ago and as it happens, I'm done with men and hooking up and all that mess. Got more important things to worry about... like not turning into a walker." Let Drizzela keep Samdi, let her realize on her own how much of an asshole he really was.

"How about the other one, Graham?"

Groaning because no, she didn't want to talk about that one night stand horror she did, Regina twisted her lips. "That was a mistake, there's nothing more to say about that."

Yes, at first she thought that the man, with his good looks and neverending attention, was the perfect medicine to cure a wounded pride, but it took her just one night with him to see how he ended up being a mistake; a huge one that wouldn't leave her alone and who was constantly on her ass inviting her out and wanting to get on her good grace, but that was a tale for another day.

"You know what the problem is with you, all of you? You wanna shit where you eat and then when things go south, you make a fuss of it."

Allowing her eyes to scan his face, she bit down on her lips. He was focused on driving, but every once in a while he would turn to her and their eyes would meet. "Well Robin, there are not many places to eat these days so what else is there to do?"

Scoffing, he said nothing, but his eyes lingered longer this time before returning where they were supposed to be.

"So I'll take you don't want to bother with cute little things like dating and all that."

"Nah, I made that mistake once and it didn't end well. Now I just leave that mess to the rest of you, as I have no time for that kind of drama."

"Yeah, as it turns out, me neither." Shifting on her seat, Regina turned back to the window and peered outside. By now Robin was slowing down because the road was thinning out. Cars were in the way, left in the middle, and where there were so many vehicles, there were always walkers. " I need to go to the bathroom."

"Yeah, it's getting kind of late, we should probably find somewhere to stay the night." Throwing his arm back and letting it rest along the back of the seat, he turned so he could take a look behind. While doing so his face was directly pointing towards hers and as he put the car in reverse, Regina just watched him.

Robin… the truth was that she has never put much attention to him, at least not in a way that she could really appreciate him. But now that her mind was not in the right place, she decided that in another kind of life, he would definitely be someone she wouldn't mind hooking up with. He didn't look half bad, he had pretty eyes, nice lips and what was better, he wasn't that awful to be around.

But because she was done with the opposite sex for now, she shrugged it off, took off her gloves and just started looking into her bag to find what she needed to empty her bladder. It wasn't much, she just got paper and sanitizer and when Robin finally parked in a place that felt safe enough, she rushed to find somewhere private to relieve herself. Robin went too, only that he did it a couple of feet from the truck and that was it.

It was the luck of being a man.

Once finished, she walked back. By then the effects of the alcohol were not as strong as they were back when they were parked in front of Storybrooke so there was no problem with her legs. She did however feel a little light headed and not fully on her element, so she decided not to push it.

"Come on." Robin motioned her to follow him once she made it to him and taking her backpack, she did.

They only encountered a handful of walkers on their way, nothing they couldn't handle even while slightly drunk, and when they found a good enough place to hang their boots for the night, they cleared it too.

It was a two story house, small but comfortable enough under the circumstances. It even had an attic, and standing right underneath the open hatch that lead towards it, she wondered why there was no ladder.

"Do you think there could be something up there worth checking?"

Narrowing his eyes, Robin stood in front of her and looked up. "A little storage maybe. Could be the walkers we cleared fell from there."

"Help me up." She said, decided to go and check. Wasn't that the point of their little trip, to find things to take back to Storybrooke? Maybe the people who lived in the house stocked up the attic, maybe there was nothing but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Robin hummed as if considering it, then he bent down a little and motioned her to use his thigh as a level. "If you die up there, it will be on you."

"Yeah yeah." Stepping on his tight and getting impulse, she reached for the entrance. He had to help her get there as she struggled a little to get in, but once up she just had to smile. "Well… not bad. There's definitely a few things we could use."

And there were, it wasn't like a huge find but it was a decent one. A few boxes of canned meat, some MRE's, water, a first aid kit, candles, blankets… there was even cash. That last one she didn't even touch, but the rest she handed it down to Robin.

When it was time for her to get down she looked through the hatch and snorted. "Okay…" Now, it wasn't like it was a huge drop but let's face it, she was in no condition of making the jump without hurting herself.

"Come on, I got you."

"Okay." Sitting down and letting her legs hang loose, she started to ease her way down, she did it carefully but when she felt him grab her legs and then her thighs, she got too confident and basically let herself drop.

"Wait."

The motion made her gasp and as a way to get a grip, she grabbed his shoulders, but much as he said, he got her. Then, once it was certain she wasn't going to fall over, he let her slip all the way to the floor.

Now, in the process of putting her down, his arm remained on her and as she slowly slid against his body, he ended up circling her waist and holding her close.

It happened as if in slow motion and then again, too fast, but once she was on the floor, Regina lifted her gaze up, her eyes glued to his as he stared back at her. Yes, she was definitely still drunk, she knew because she couldn't take her eyes away from his and as he held her to him, she couldn't help but to feel a tingling sensation forming in the pit of her stomach.

It was weird… having him press against her with one arm stubbornly wrapped around her waist as her hands remained over his shoulders…

Add to that the alcohol in her system and voila, catastrophe presented itself in the form of a kiss.

She didn't know who started it; in her state, it wouldn't surprise her if it was her but it could have been him all the same; the only thing that she knew for sure was that now her lips were lightly brushing against his.

It was crazy, for a few seconds, time stood still and even though they were not taking things any further, her heart was pounding very hard inside her chest and her head was clouded, she didn't even know what she was doing. But then, as quickly as it began, Robin pulled away as if her lips were burning his. He even took a few steps back away from her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

On her part, Regina lifted a hand up in the air and pressed her fingers to her temples, the implications of the situation finally registering in her brain. She just kissed Robin. It has been her and she didn't even know why!

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking." She said, clearing her throat and closing her eyes. "I'm fucking drunk."

"Well you better sleep that off before you keep doing stupid shit. I'll take the first watch." And with that said, he walked away, leaving her behind and wondering how bad she screwed up this time…

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For chapter 2, I'm going to use the prompt 'Knight In Shining Armor' and yeah, keep in mind that Robin and Regina are not supposed to get along at first

Regina has been submerged into a deep slumber when the sound startled her. It was a thunderous clinging noise that oddly resembled two tin cans banging together, loud, annoying… and the sound piercing so deep into her brain she actually winced. It was an unpleasant sensation, and just because her brain hadn't gone through the process of fully waking up yet, the surprise of it made her jump involuntarily.

That was how before she could even open her eyes, her hand darted forward automatically, reaching for a gun in a night table that wasn't even there.

"Wake up, we're leaving."

Recognizing the voice and automatically remembering where she was and with who, the brunette survivor immediately knew that she wasn't in any danger of an attack, not from the living, and not from the dead, and that made her sigh in relief.

"Jesus, Locksley, I could have shot you." True… she didn't have her gun anywhere near, which was a mistake, but she could have had it and her survival instinct, she could have reacted by shooting him right where he stood.

Getting no response, she growled. By then, she had already blinked her eyes open so that she could scan her surroundings, the warm chocolate orbs that were her eyes trying to focus in the poor lighted room she was in. Her vision was blurry and fuzzy and as she stared through heavy eyelids at the silhouette of the man that just woke her walking away, the notion came to her that her head was throbbing.

Yes, she had one hell of a headache, or more like a feeling that there was someone playing a slow but steady drum melody inside her head. At the moment it felt bad, but having been in that situation a few times before, she knew that it was nothing that some aspirin and a huge mug of coffee couldn't handle.

Now, if she only had some aspirin or even some of the shitty but oh so convenient post-apocalyptic coffee they kept stored in Storybrooke, everything would be fine…

Laying her head back down and mumbling a few incoherencies, the woman closed her eyes and dragged the thin blanket she has been using for cover over her head, drowning out of her sight everything that wasn't pure darkness. It felt better that way, underneath the old fabric she found some kind of comfort and because of that, she decided that she didn't want to get out of the old mattress sprawled on the floor she has used as a bed; no, if it was up to her, she would just lay there all day to suffer not only from her hangover, but also from the repercussions of her actions the previous night.

It was like this, even after a full night's rest, the memory of the way she dumbly kissed Robin out of the blue and his reaction to it was so bad that she had to groan.

"You're so, so stupid." She hissed, her eyes still closed and the notion that she went to sleep with her boots on kind of bothering her. Actually she has gone to sleep the same way she woke up, face down, jacket on, pants on and a deep sense of shame eating her entrails.

Not that she should feel that way. What she did has been nothing but a drunk stupid mistake, not the first one she ever did and probably nor was it going to be the last.

Actually, if she was going to rank all of the stupid shit she has ever done, both sober and under the effect of too much drinking, the little chaste kiss she gave the man would definitely be at the bottom… even if it was maybe among the most embarassings.

Not like she should feel that way, yeah she kissed him and so what? It happened, he made it clear that it wasn't something he liked so that was it. It was time to move on; and in case the subject was ever approached, she was just going to remind him that she has been drunk and in her book, that gave her full absolution.

It was on him if he was going to let something so silly be a big issue.

With that in mind, she forced herself up to her feet and wanting to walk out the stiffness of her whole body, she headed the same way Robin went out. She caught up to him downstairs by a huge kitchen table, sorting out the things she found in the attic. He seemed way too engrossed with that and even when she cleared her throat, he didn't look her way.

Rubbing her eyes, she took a look around and noticed that there were a few rays of light coming through the windows so she was going to assume that a new day had approached. That right there made her realize that she wasn't supposed to sleep that long and that did make her feel guilty.

"You didn't wake me up to take over your watch." She said, her voice hoarse and her mouth dry. It felt like a whole bucket of sand went down her throat and now it was a drag to swallow. She had to clear her throat again to get some sort of normalcy, but when that didn't work, she simply took the remaining steps to approach the table and she grabbed for a bottle of water from one of the boxes he was inspecting.

Drinking from it, she noticed his lack of response and immediately knew that he was ignoring her, thing that almost made her snort. She also noticed that he looked freshen up, even his hair looked damp and clean and her eyes moved around, looking for the bathroom. "Is there running water here?"

"Mm-hmm"

"Okay." Not wanting to let his cold demeanor bother her, she swirled on her heels and started to look for the bathroom. She found it near the stairs, so grabbing for her things, she went in and hoped that a quick shower would help her ease her discomforts. It did, the cold water did wonders and once she was done she felt somehow better.

The throb in her head was still there and the light in her eyes was annoying, but those discomforts were bound to leave sooner rather than later so she sucked it up and got ready for a day she knew wasn't going to be easy.

Once she was done, she found her travel companion outside, putting the boxes in the car. He put them conveniently right in the middle of the seat and she wondered if he did it to mark a separation between them. It would be ridiculous if he did it because of that... as if she was going to jump him or something.

Rolling her eyes and then blowing out a breath, Regina put her things into the cabin and climbed in. No word was exchanged during the whole thing and when he was finally done putting everything inside and started to drive away, she occupied herself by opening one of the MRE's and eating the warm food.

She put all her attention on doing that so it wasn't until she finished, that she noticed that they were heading back, backtracking the road they had taken to get there. "Where are we going?"

"Storybrooke." He replied, plain and simple, making her venture to take a look at him.

He was as serious as ever, not a surprise there because she has seen him look like that many times before, but she took pride on catching on people's moods and there were little indications that screamed out loud that he wasn't as indifferent as he seemed at first glance. For starters, he was compulsively chewing on the inside of his lips, and the way he impatiently and continuously tapped his fingers on the gear lever told her that something was bothering him, her. She was either making him uncomfortable or he was just pissed at her.

By the way his jaw was firmly set, she would bet on anything that it was the later; that was why he was giving her the cold shoulder and why he woke her up so abruptly.

Lifting a hand so that she could run it through her now loose hair, Regina pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue and tilted her head towards the window. For a while she closed her eyes and tried to rest, but with the car's constant jerks she just couldn't.

Besides, the tension in the air was so heavy and thick that she was almost choking with it and that made it hard for her to simply rest.

It was one of those rare occasions where silence was too damn loud and the way she saw it, the air needed to be cleared. It was obvious that they were no longer going to keep on with their little trip and true, what happened was something she didn't want to discuss right there, but at the same time, she felt it needed to be addressed.

It was a long way to Storybrooke, and she didn't want to spend it like that. So yeah, why not grab the bull by its horns and be done with it?

How bad could it be? If she had to be completely honest, she didn't even know how it felt to kiss him so part of her mind couldn't get why it was such a big issue. It all happened so fast that she didn't even get to savor it; she didn't remember how his lips felt against hers or if he did something with his hands... hell, she didn't even remember if he responded and well, she doubted it was any different for him so there was no reason to make something so little get so big.

Ugh, maybe, if she would have known that the kiss was going to cause such a mess, she would have made more of it, like engraving it into her mind to decide if the damn thing was worth so much drama or not.

"I was drunk last night, I didn't mean to…"

"Forget about it." Cutting her off both with what he said and with a motion of his hand that indicated her to shut up, he hissed.

"I will." She said almost angrily, for some reason annoyed that he didn't even let her finish. Probably because of the hangover, it made her feel pissed that he was angry and yes, it also bothered her that because of a stupid little kiss, she now had to head back to Storybrooke.

She didn't want to go back. "This is stupid."

"Coming here was stupid."

Arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms defensively to her chest, she eyed him. "Well, it wasn't like I forced you to come out here." And she hadn't, sure, the idea was hers, but she didn't force him into tagging along.

"Yeah, but you never mentioned your real intentions either."

"My real intentions? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just going to say that if you want someone to hook up with, then you better start finding someone else, because it's not going to be me."

Gasping and actually letting her jaw hang loose, Regina turned fully to her side so that she could face him. She did it slowly, almost in slow motion, as she needed the meaning of his words to settle first.

When they finally did, she scoffed. "Trust me, I have no intentions of hooking up with you. In fact I would have to be way more drunk than I was last night, before wanting anything with you."

"You had a nice way of showing it." He hissed, obviously not buying her bullshit.

It pissed her off, so shaking her head in disbelief, the brown-eyed woman closed her hand into a fist and fought hard against the urge to punch him right in the face.

Luckily, she managed to keep herself from doing it by taking in a deep breath and trying to be reasonable; after all, if there was something she knew about herself, it was that she had a short fuse and in her state, she didn't want to make a drama out of something so ridiculous as a kiss.

"It was a mistake, okay." A mistake that wouldn't have even happened if he hadn't gone ahead to grab her so close while looking at her with those stupid stunning eyes of his.

"That wasn't a mistake, it was a choice, a stupid one. This may sound new to you, but you can't go around kissing people, or sleeping with them and then just call it a mistake. You can't use people to solve your shit, and you can't use everyone who gets in your way to make _him_ get back to you."

 _Him_? Was he referring to Samdi? And was he throwing in her face her thing with Graham as well? Oh hell no... Not really believing what he just said, Regina did a double take.

"Excuse me?" She asked in an eerie calmness she wasn't feeling; actually what she was feeling after the initial shock of his words, was anger rising up from deep within her and reaching all the way to the top of her head. The feeling was even tangible and for a second, she was even blinded by it.

Who the hell did he think he was? And that he wasn't responding to the chance to take it back was making her feel even more mad. "Stop the car."

Tensing his jaw hard enough so that she noticed the muscle moving and blinking a couple of times, he said nothing and did nothing other than drive.

"I said stop the car." Her voice came off louder than what she intended and for the first time probably that morning, Robin had the decency of taking a look at her, and as his eyes met her furious ones, it almost seemed like he cringed.

She just wasn't sure if it was because he realized what he just said or because she looked about to burst. That right there angered her even more and unable to stop herself, she grabbed the first thing she had at reach, which happened to be a bottle of water and hit his shoulder with it, one and then two times as hard as she could. Then, just for the sake of it she added another one.

He tried to block it, but the impact still made the bottle open and spill the precious liquid all over him.

"Stop the fucking car!"

Pulling over and turning to her, Robin watched as she grabbed all of her things, her backpack, the rifle and her knives, then once she got it all, she opened the door to get out.

"Come on don't be ridiculous, you won't make it walking back home."

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Regina turned to him and yes, she flipped him. "Screw you." Then, she slammed the door as hard as she could and started to walk into the woods by the side of the road.

It could be that she imagined it, but she was almost sure that she heard the way he started the truck and drove off, and as he did that, her only regret was that it didn't cross her mind to take a few meals from the provisions she found.

"Stupid asshole."

So yes, she walked away, she did it without thinking, with no sense of direction whatsoever and knowing full well that she was being careless and unreasonable. Regardless of that, she put her bag to her back and grabbed one of her knives hard, ready in case she found a walker on her way.

She did, in the first twenty minutes of walking aimlessly, she encountered a few scattered around and wanting to take out the anger in her, she slashed them hard. After that, more kept coming and instead of finding them in ones and pairs, now small groups started to come after her.

Some she dodged, but most she dealt with. She did that for some quite some, enough to make her break a sweat and get a little short of breath.

At least in her furor, her headache was the last of her problems.

Snorting bitterly at that thought, Regina kept moving around and after a little more wandering, she found a safe spot that she quickly cleared of walkers. Once secured, she crouched down, taking her backpack off and putting it in front of her so that she could grab a bottle of water.

She only drank a little as she took a look around, that was when she started to think that maybe, just maybe, she made another dumb mistake by getting off the car.

So yes, she was pissed and didn't want to deal with Robin, but she had to face it; she had to admit that because of her little outburst, she was now on her own, far from home and with just one bottle of water to help her through.

Maybe that little thing her mother used to tell her was true and she was indeed her own worst enemy. Shrugging because there was nothing to do about it now, she took a moment to collect herself, and as she did that, she tried to think quickly. If she walked by the road instead of the woods, she could find a car and hot-wire it and yeah… with a car she could make it home before nightfall and-

Before she could finish that thought, she heard a noise from behind and grabbing her biggest knife, she jumped to her feet. There were a couple of walkers making their way to her so licking her lips, she went to them.

The first one she got with no problem, but when she was about to strike the other one, she felt something grabbing her leg and pulling at it. It made her lose her balance, and before she knew what was happening, she was face down on the dirt.

Kicking at her leg and listening to the growls behind her, Regina realized that there has been a third walker, or to phrase that better, half a walker crawling in the dirt.

"Son of a…" she gasped and kicked again. Then, in a swift movement, she rolled to her back, sat down and put the knife through its skull.

The whole thing happened ridiculously fast, she dealt with that one, true, but there was still another one close by so wanting to get rid of that one as well, she tried getting to her feet.

It was a struggle with her backpack weighing her down, which was a dangerous disadvantage, especially with the walker so damn close. It made her groan, the adrenaline making her kick at the thing as hard as she could. Her intention has been to either make it fall so she could deal with it on the ground, or at least make it retreat until she could actually stand up... but then, before any of those things happened, the dead creature fell down in a heap, a knife sticking through it's temple.

Breathing hard through her mouth and leaning backwards until the only thing that prevented her from laying flat on the soil was her backpack, Regina's eyes searched the direction from where the small knife came from and that's when she saw Robin walking to her. He did it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

When he approached the walker, he took the knife he effectively threw at him and retrieved it, then when he was by her side, he extended a hand and offered it so she could get back to her feet.

"Are you done with your hissy fit?"

The asshole...

Lifting a hand but slapping his away instead of grabbing it, Regina snarled her lips. She didn't say anything though, she just clasped her mouth shut and focused on the way he looked imposing standing almost over her.

"Come on." He said, placing the hand she just pushed away to his waist and resting the weight of his body to his left foot. The look on his face was telling her that he was bored out of his mind and it irked her to no end that in contrast, she was winded, sweating, dirty and knocked to the ground.

No... more than getting irked, it pissed her off.

"Go back to Storybrooke and leave me alone."

"So you can get yourself killed? Don't be stupid, you almost became dinner to this one right now so stop acting like a spoiled little princess and let's go."

Yes, that man just had a way with words… no wonder people considered him a jerk.

"First of all, if I'm going to be anything, it will be a Queen, not a princess. Second, I had it handled, I didn't need you to come like… like some knight in shining armor rescuing me or anything."

"Sure, your majesty..."

Lifting her head so she could look at him, Regina blinked. He returned the stare and extended his hand to hers once again.

"You are an asshole."

"I know."

Feeling like she needed to get off her chest some of her anger, Regina kept on talking. "And you don't know me, so don't think you do just because I pulled a stupid drunk mistake with you. You don't know shit… I'm my own person, I'm not just Samdi's bitter ex and I don't do the things I do because of him or anyone else. Yeah, I mess up and I do it a lot, but that's on me and nobody else... so don't undermine me, I hate that."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "Okay."

"And don't you just… _okay_ me."

"And what the bloody hell you want me to say? Fine, I was an asshole, I told you I was a drunk asshole and yeah, that includes after. I haven't gotten any sleep either because I was taking over _your_ watch while you slept good as a baby so really, I don't have time for this now.'

Twisting her lips, Regina shook her head. "You suck at apologies." But even though she said that, she lifted her hand to his and allowed him to grab it.

He did, his much larger hand took over hers and once firmly in his hold, he pulled so she could get up. It was kind of weird, but as that happened, she couldn't help but to think that their hands linked together was the longest skin to skin they had shared.

It made her feel glad that she wasn't wearing gloves so she could fully grasp the feeling.

Yes, because the only other skin to skin or flesh to flesh they had shared has been the kiss and that didn't last too long, meaning that she didn't get to really appreciate it.

"I don't need to apologize, I just saved your arse."

Already on her own two feet but still with her hand on his, she groaned. She just didn't know what to say, the glint in his eyes as their hands remained linked was somehow making her question what the hell was going on and well, since last time he looked at her like that she ended up doing something stupid, she decided that it was safer to say and do nothing.

But then, as if snapping back to reality, he broke the contact and motioned her to follow him.

"Let's move."

Sighing, she grabbed her things and unaware that they were heading to some danger, she followed him…

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

It was funny how silence could hang in the air like a thousand pounds of deadweight; how under the right circumstances, the pressure of it could even become suffocating. That was how Robin's silent treatment felt to Regina in that moment, and as she walked quietly behind him, she wondered how it came to be that some people claimed that silence was a luxury.

Sure, it was true that silence was better than bullshit and that it should only be broken when it could be improved and yes, since she knew for sure that whatever possible conversation between her and Robin was bound to end up in unnecessary drama, it was better to keep their words and thoughts to themselves.

All that was true, but at the same time, there was nothing she disliked more than being snubbed off and that was what he was doing to her.

He was blatantly ignoring her, after going through the trouble of venturing into the woods to look for her, he was once again giving her the cold shoulder, and if she had to be honest, that just rubbed her the wrong way. Not that she wanted them to chit chat as if nothing happened, but acknowledging her was not only common courtesy, but also the best act to make if he really wanted to clear the air between them.

But apparently, that wasn't what he wanted, as he wasn't even trying. Actually, since he motioned her to follow him, he hasn't even glanced her way and let alone cross a word with her and she just didn't get why he bothered at all to go find her and then offer that poor excuse of an apology if she was apparently the last person on earth he wanted to interact with.

The logic of it eluded her… not that she was going to let him know how much that baffled her. No, as far as she was concerned, two could play that game and if he was going to act as if she wasn't there, then she was going to ignore him too.

Decided, she pushed the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue and tilted her head towards him one last time, corroborating that just as he has been doing for the last couple of miles, he was walking a few paces in front of her; backpack on, rifle hanging by his side, and a knife safely on his fist. His back was to her so she couldn't read his expression, but she would bet on anything that he was fully alert of his surroundings because apparently, that was how he was, focused.

Focused on everything but her, obviously.

With a roll of her eyes, Regina moved her face away so that she could look away and instead, she started to scan her surroundings.

They were still walking through the woods, moving between all kinds of trees, their branches growing wild and in all directions. It was actually a pretty sight, the greenery, the natural freshness in the air and yes, why not admit it? The beauty of so many flowers adorning the foliage.

Now, she wouldn't say she was a flower type of woman, she wasn't before and she definitely wasn't now, but despite it being such a silly thing, she couldn't help but to grab for one and put it to her nose, the scent of it sweet enough to hide the stench of a world that was rotten to it's very core.

She kept it… the texture of it comforting in some weird kind of way. It was like holding onto something that was about to go extinct, and even if she didn't want to, she couldn't help but to feel an unusual sense of nostalgia wash over her as she held it.

Nostalgia for the people she lost… and nostalgia for a world that was no more.

But no, that was a road she didn't want to travel again so going back to the reality of her life, she tried to focus on what she had in front of her. They were in the woods, yes... but she was going to assume they were close to wherever Robin parked the vehicle because from where they were, the road was almost visible.

They kept walking alongside it, edging it but keeping their distance while taking on the few walkers that got in their way. There were not a lot of them standing, but there were quite a few down and that definitely picked her attention.

Slowing her pace, she tried to remember if that has been the same path she took earlier on. In her fury, she hadn't been paying much attention so she kept looking around to check if there was something, anything that would indicate her if she has been the one taking down those walkers.

It was as she was scanning through the area, that she noticed what appeared to be some graves. There were five of them, three covered up and the other two unfinished. They unfinished ones were just a couple of holes in the ground, but judging by the wooden coffins in them, she was going to say that just as the others, the intention of them has been a burial.

She didn't put much attention to them though, as she was morbidly drawn to the three that were actually finished… her mind swirling around the fact that at least, three people got to be properly laid down in an eternal rest.

Daniel didn't get that, her sister didn't get that… and wherever they had been when the dead started to rise, she was sure that her parents didn't get that either.

It was unsettling, and that was probably why she bent down and put the flower down over one of them. Thinking of her loved ones, and all of the people lost along the way...

"Seems like whoever did this left in a hurry." Robin's voice, almost low as a whisper, broke the silence that has been reigning over them and she actually had to look up at him in surprise.

She didn't reply though, unsure if he was talking to himself or if he was actually finally addressing her presence. There was no way of knowing for sure because he still wasn't looking at her, what he was doing was using the tip of his boot to push the lid of one of the coffins open to take a peek inside.

"It's empty, the other one is broken."

Getting up to her feet, she went to take a look herself, taking notice that just as he said, one of them was broken, the lid half smashed and the wood sticking out as if in a grotesque sculpture, the other one was intact but empty.

That right there made her wonder what the hell happened in there. Could it be that amidst burying their dead, the people who dig the graves were attacked? She didn't doubt it, but she also had no proof.

Maybe if the situation would be different, she would ask Robin what was his take on the scenario, after all he did have a good eye for detail.

But since the situation was what it was, she stopped just long enough to take a glance and then she started walking after him once again. That only lasted for a couple of minutes because all of a sudden, the sound of an approaching vehicle echoed all around and she immediately ducked down.

She did it out of instinct even though the car was still a distance away, but when her ear picked up that there were more than one, probably three of them, she moved her eyes around to search for Robin.

He wasn't far from her and as her eyes settled on him, the first thing she noticed was that he was also down; he was crouching and even when his eyes were set on the road up ahead, he was motioning to her to be quiet and keep down…

As if she had to be told.

With another roll of her eyes, the brunette pouted her lips and waited for the cars to pass by, only that they didn't, they pulled over and judging by the sound of doors being slammed, there were people getting off. Now, she was close enough to hear them talking, but too far to make out their words, thing that she didn't like one bit.

She also didn't like the fact that Robin was getting nearer to the road, probably so that he could listen, and despite thinking that it wasn't a good idea for them to get too close, she approached him, moving quiet as a shadow while keeping down.

"… with the plan. Lancelot is going to lead the crawlers away and once they're gone, I want everyone searching the woods, every tree and creek and crevice, we are going to sweep this shit down and we won't leave until we find them. Now get your ass moving and get ready."

Blinking slowly as the words registered in her brain, Regina lifted her face towards her fellow survivor. He was narrowing his eyes as he kept looking towards the voices and as one, maybe two of the cars started, he looked down at her as well.

"It's not us they're looking for, but that doesn't mean we'll sit and wait for them; they're packing heavy so let's keep moving, we'll have to-"

Before he could finish the sentence, one of the cars turned on what appeared to be speakers and then, loud music started to blast all through the place. It took Regina only a second to realize what was going to happen.

"Fuck." Robin mumbled, so she knew that it hit him too.

They were basically trapped, the car with the speakers wasn't moving and that only meant that they were waiting for walkers to start coming their way. And they would very soon, with the music so loud, they were sure as hell going to come. It was a tactic their group had even used and having seen the results, she knew that in a matter of nothing, the walking dead were going to head towards the car by the dozens, maybe even more and well, as they made their way towards the car, they were going to walk into Robin and herself.

Now, they could try to make a run for it and try to get off the way, but the truth was that no matter where they went, they were going to get swamped in. It was either that or take their chances with the men with the speakers and since they didn't look too amicable with their guns and bad intentions, she was going to discard that too.

"Robin- this is not good." She began to say.

The man was still crouching down, biting the inside of his thumb as if thinking what to do. But then he got to his feet and shook his head. "Let's go."

Not having to be told twice, Regina started following him, thinking that whatever they were going to do, they better not use guns. It was bad to deal with the walkers on their own, but shooting was going to draw too much attention.

What they could do was fight their way out, it was risky but they could do it. She was going to tell him so, but when she saw that he stopped by the graves and started to take off his rifle and backpack to put them in the space between the empty coffin and the dug hole, she shook her head no.

"No." She said standing her ground.

"Got a better idea?"

Sucking her lips into her mouth, she took a look around. Their surroundings looked clear, but in the distance, she could hear movement, lots of it and that only meant walkers. So no, running was now not an option; then there was the road and there was no way they could go there unseen, which meant that Robin's idea was the only viable one… bad as it was.

Puffing out a breath and furrowing her brows, she took off her rifle and backpack as well, then she did the same thing as Robin and put them safely out of the way. By then, he had already slid the entire lid open and was getting in. "Keep the knives, we'll probably need them."

"I don't like this." She mumbled between clenched teeth, more to herself than to him; but knowing that she needed to hurry, she took off the things he said and gave them to him. He put them by his side and lay down on his back, making it obvious that she had to basically accommodate herself over him.

That was exactly what she did; biting hard onto her lips, she went down with him, her knees straddling one of his thighs as the full weight off her body rested against him.

It was awkward as hell, especially after what happened between them the night before, but it was what it was… how it needed to be, as he was too heavy to be the one on top.

He probably knew that too, because before she could find a way to be as comfortable as she could under the circumstances, he was dragging the lid close.

"Is this a bad time to tell you I don't like being in closed spaces?" She whispered, but when she noticed that they were not entirely in the darkness and that even though the lid was in place, there was a little opening where not only air but also light could come through, she blew out a breath she didn't even know she has been holding.

And really, it wasn't like she was claustrophobic or anything, but she was in a damn grave, in a coffin and basically trapped with another being in there so yes, it wasn't like she was having a blast. It was just…

"You gonna freak out on me now?" He whispered back and lifting her head a little so that she could look at him, she saw that he was trying to get a peek out through the small opening. As he did that, his lips were slightly parted, probably from the effort of straining his neck. She could also see how the tip of his tongue kept pushing against his upper teeth and for some reason, she focused on that.

It looked like a habit of his… nothing more, so not wanting to get caught up with it, she moved her eyes away and tried to get a look outside too.

Because of the angle, it was easier for her to peer out, but still, she couldn't see anything that indicated the upcoming approach of the walkers; she could hear them though, growing louder and louder with each passing second.

Feeling antsy and closed in, she swallowed on dry and tried to accommodate herself by slowly moving a bit higher, it was hard with the lack of space available and probably because of that, she clumsily pushed her knee right between his legs. It was an involuntarily miscalculation from her part and as soon as the contact was made, he grabbed her thigh and put it over his other leg, meaning that she was now straddling his hips and not his leg as before.

He did that almost angrily so she cleared her throat and apologized. "Sorry." She said in a hushed voice, feeling more awkward than mortified, because even though he probably did that as a way to keep her from contacting his crotch, in her mind, the new position she was now in left much to be desired. And that move of grabbing her? That has been a little bold for him even if he didn't mean anything by it.

Taking his hand off of her and placing it along his other one against the lid, he hissed. "Just stop wriggling."

"I am not wriggling." And she really wasn't, but because the last thing she wanted was for him to start saying she was taking advantage of the situation, she tried to keep as still as she could.

It was enough with his silent reproach about the kiss so she didn't need this on her back as well. Besides he was now taking extra precautions not to touch her more than what it was necessary and that screamed out loud that he was as uncomfortable with the situation as she was, so the best she could do was let it go.

So, wanting to focus on something else but the man beneath her, she went back at looking through the small peeking opening. "They are here." She said, proud that her voice didn't tremble when she caught a glimpse of feet dragging towards the music. There were quite a few and when the growls started to become louder than the music, she lowered her eyes to his face.

In that moment, she caught him looking at her and when their eyes found each other in the confines of their hidden spot, he moved them towards the crack that offered a view outside. In his position, it was challenging to look though so with a twist of his lips, he moved his eyes to hers again, the full intensity of those blue digging into hers... because yes, this time it was him the one who caught her staring at him.

Unlike him, she didn't look away, she just got caught up in the deepness of his stare and basically froze.

They were close, so close that she could feel his breathing caressing her face and somehow, it all felt like a déjà vu. It was all too recent in her memories so yes, her mind automatically recalled that last time she has been so close to him, she ended up kissing him; sure, a drunk light kiss, but a kiss nonetheless.

Blinking slowly, she noticed how his eyes lowered to her lips and she actually had to swallow down, because she was damn sure he was also remembering what happened the previous night.

Surprisingly, realizing that he wasn't trying to bite her head off as he thought back to it, sent a shiver down her spine as she wondered what would happen if she did it again…

Not that she would, his eyes on her lips lasted only a second and when they were back on her eyes, she remembered his reaction so no, it wasn't going to happen.

Forcing her eyes to move from his and closing her hands into fists as they rested at either side of his head, she looked out again, but the thing was that he felt like a magnet and after a quick glance, she went back to looking at him. He was still scanning her face with curious eyes and no, he wasn't hiding what he was doing.

Maybe he wanted to kiss her, and who knew? If that was the case, she could get something more than a simple chaste peck. If that happened, she would definitely put attention to the whole thing because unfortunately, she could barely remember the feeling of her lips pressing to his and maybe she was curious…

It could be a real kiss now. Just that, she didn't want or needed any more male drama in her life so if they kept it at just a little kissing…

She doubted he would pull a Graham on her so yeah, why not?

Before her mind could keep on messing with her, a walker stepped onto the coffin and she actually jumped in surprise. A small gasp was also torn from her and suddenly, she wasn't thinking about kissing him anymore.

It was probably ridiculous, but in that moment, she started to think of all of the things that could go wrong. Like the lid could break and they could either be munched to death or be stampeded on, or the walkers could trip over them and one after the other they could get stuck and pile up and how the hell were she and Robin would push them off?

"I don't like this."

"Shh."

Another walker stepped over the coffin and the lid trembled, making her startle again. It also made her lower herself against him and closing her eyes, she hid her face into the crook of his neck, her mouth automatically pressing to his shoulder.

She did that as a way to force herself not to say anything because by now, there were countless of feet stomping and dragging against the wooden barrier that was keeping them safe and that shit was scary. Sure, she did her part by keeping quiet, but that didn't help much.

It was bad, she felt so bad, that she could hear her heart beating so hard that she was afraid it could be heard all the way to Storybrooke. It was hammering insanely fast against her ribcage and yes, against Robin's too.

There was no way he couldn't feel that and she even wondered if her heart could explode from the intensity of the whole thing. It was as she wondered about that when his hands came down to touch her, one brushing her hair out of his face before it came to rest against her, almost to her shoulder and the other one to her lower back.

Tensing over the whole thing but too preoccupied to wonder how they ended up in that position, she tried to occupy her mind in other things, like on the way his chest rose and fell as he breathed.

It was soothing in certain way, but even with that little distraction, every time the wood creaked, she jumped. If it wasn't because he was now holding her to him, she would have probably already pushed against the lid to take her chances outside.

Fighting her way through walkers didn't feel as terrifying as being there, trapped underground. But at the same time, she knew being there was the best way of pulling through so that's what she did, she remained immobile against the man as the herd went through.

For how long they remained there? She didn't know, all she knew was that after the longest wait of her life, it was finally over, and as that settled in, she wanted nothing more than to get out and take a deep breath of fresh air. She was already pushing against the lid when she heard people talking and so she went back down.

Now, she did that hard, basically letting her weight crash against Robin. He puffed out a breath at the impact, he also placed both hands to her hips before sliding them to her back again.

"I don't get why we have to keep looking for Killian, yeah he bolted but so what? It's not like we need him."

"Don't be such a fucking idiot, Gold doesn't want him back because he needs him. Nah man, he wants us to find him because he's not going to let the one the stupid asshole pulled on him slide like that. No fucking way."

"Fuck Killian, how long could a one handed fucktard survive out here anyway? Especially with the blonde bitch with him. What we should be doing, is tracking down that group… you know, the one that has been taking all of the provisions all around. Heard they were now mixing it up with people in Hyperion Heights so that's what we should do, blow them to pieces."

The two men kept their conversation as they too walked over the coffin and after several minutes of nothing but silence, it was Robin the one sliding the lid open.

Pushing off of him and quickly taking a look around to make sure the area was really clear, Regina stepped out of the grave. "They were talking about our group." Which meant they needed to go back to Storybrooke as soon as they could. "We have to tell them."

"Yeah I know." He replied; then, he took his things and much as he has been doing before, he began to walk without saying a word.

Grabbing for her own things, Regina hurried after him, her mind racing a thousand miles per second. Why would those men want to blow their comunity off? Like… wasn't it enough that they had to deal with the walkers to now have people wanting to take them down just for trying to survive?

And really, as dull as Storybrooke was for her, it was a safe haven for many. There were kids there for crying out loud so no, there was just no way they could let a group of assholes take that away from them.

That was why they needed to hurry, warn the others and think on what to do.

The only problem was that the two men that passed them by earlier on, were not the only ones searching through the woods and in more than one occasion, they had to alternate their routes to evade them. That took them a good part of the day, and when dusk was creeping in, they found themselves hiding into a small second story apartment. There was a group of about five a couple of miles ahead and they wanted them to move out before they could keep going.

"How much ammo you got?" Robin asked as he looked into his bag; then, before she could even check, he was pushing her way a good amount of ammunition. He also took out two bottles of water and some canned food, he gave all that to her.

Now, since they just ate the last MRE's, she frowned at that, not really getting why he was giving all those things to her.

"I'm going to head out and distract them so you can sneak out the back and make it to Storybrooke."

"What? No-" She began to say as she realized what he wanted to do.

"Shouldn't be many walkers left around so if you keep a good pace, you can make it by tomorrow noon; maybe less if you find yourself some wheels."

"Robin, no. We stick together and we make it together. There's more than a dozen of those men out there and you know they are packing heavy so no, just… no."

Not minding what she just said, the man took his rifle and made it to the door. She almost had to run to beat him to it and pull the door shut.

"I said we stick together; we either make it to Storybrooke or we go out there and take on the group, but neither of us we'll do anything alone."

As if her words pissed him off, he took a step back and dragged the palm of his hand down his face. "Yeah because we are making great progress together. Listen, I'm not going to hole up in here, but that doesn't mean you can't go and warn the others."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"I can throw them off track."

"No." She said, her tone firm as he took a step towards the door. She even put herself between the exit and him, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes fixed on his.

"Move." He said once he was right in front of her, his face a stoic mask that gave nothing away. If it wasn't because the intensity of his eyes lit his whole face in annoyance, she would even think the whole thing was boring to him.

"I'm not going to move, you're not even lis-"

Not letting her finish, he grabbed her face with both his hands and pulled it to his. He did it roughly, making her stumble against him so that she had to raise her hands to his chest to steady herself; it was as that happened, that his mouth pressed to hers and he kissed her.

Caught in the sudden surprise, she barely had time to close her eyes before realization hit her. He was kissing her! Well, at least he was pressing hard against her mouth with his own lips. It shook her, confused her, even, but when she parted her lips to ask what the fuck he was doing, he didn't hesitate in going in, swirling his tongue around hers and then moving one of his hands to the back of her head as if to hold her in place.

Unsure of what was going on but feeling like she needed to savor the moment to its fullest, Regina tilted her head to the right as his tongue did a quick exploration of her mouth. He wasn't too tender about it, meaning that with the force of the kiss, her head would sometimes lean back a little.

When that would happen, Robin would hold her even closer, even though he was the one pushing her back, the fingers of his right hand tangling in her hair as the kiss became deeper and more intense.

But then, as suddenly as it began, the kiss ended abruptly when he pulled away from her.

"Make sure you make it back and tell them, tell David." Once that was said, he walked around her and without saying another word he walked out.

It took her several seconds to realize he was leaving and when she finally managed to react, she went to open the door that he just closed. It didn't give away completely and giving it a jerk, she came to understand that it was stuck. Somehow he managed to leave her behind so he could do what he wanted to do.

He distracted her with a kiss and she fell for it.

"Stupid son of…" Groaning, she used her full body weight to push at the door. It opened a little more, but as she knew, by the time she would be able to get out of there, it was going to be too late…

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm going to kill him."

Hissing underneath her breath as her foot searched blindly for a safe spot to settle in, Regina let go of the steel rod she has been holding onto and grabbed for the one below. She did it angrily, half her mind having a hard time believing that because of Robin fucking Locksley, she was actually climbing down out of a second story building.

It was in a way ridiculous, really… and to be honest, she wasn't happy about it.

No, actually, she was seething about the whole thing, and the closer to the ground she got, the angrier she would get. It was a silly thing, but she couldn't believe that he left her behind and what was worse, that he used such a cheap trick to do it.

She also couldn't believe that she fell for it, how she even kissed him back as if it was the most natural thing in the world... even when she should have known that he was up to something.

And really, she should have known better, after all he was Robin, Mr. I don't get close to nobody, and she knew from experience that he wasn't exactly a kissing kind of person. At least when it came to her, as she has seen how he reacted to the little peck she gave him the previous night. So yeah, that he kissed her the way he did should have rang a bell for her.

But it didn't, she stupidly let herself be carried away into the moment, and now she was the fool who let him kiss his way out.

It was mortifying, and it didn't do much to her already acrid mood to realize that he knew kissing her was going to work, and that she proved him right.

But what could she say in her defense? She was only human, one with many faults and what ran through her veins was blood, not ice; besides, she had to admit that deep inside, she has been wanting to kiss him ever since they were hiding underground.

It was a feeling she tried to ignore, especially since she was sure it was a one sided desire, but then he kissed her and that was it, her fate was sealed. It was no surprise that in the blissful shock of it, she didn't recognize his real intentions of ditching her.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Regina kept going down and once she was safely on her own two feet, she turned around to search for the bag she threw through the window before deciding that the quickest way to get out of the apartment, was climbing down.

But when she turned, what she found was a man pointing a crossbow in her direction.

Getting in full defensive mode and clearing her mind of any other distraction, Regina quickly grabbed for the pistol she had tucked at her waist and aimed for him as he aimed for her.

It all happened fast, too fast... but even with so little time to muse about what was going on, she was aware that she could take him down before he even fired an arrow… and she sure as hell was going to do it if he did as little as move an inch.

"Drop it."

The voice came from behind her, a woman who was apparently too close and who could be armed as well, so cursing under her breath, the brunette snarled her lips and lowered her gun.

Smiling wildly, the man clicked his tongue to his cheek as Regina felt the woman behind her checking her out for any additional weapon. She had none other than the rifle that was being stripped off of her, everything else was in the backpack the man was lifting off the ground and throwing over his shoulder.

"She's clear."

"What the hell do you want?"

Regina asked as her gun was taken away. She said that without taking her eyes off the man, even when her senses were fully aware that the woman could strike at any given moment. But then, before she even got a reply, she noticed two things. One, that he man was missing a hand and in it's place he had a fucking hook… a hook! Two, the crossbow he was awkwardly holding.

Narrowing her eyes and her mind rolling quickly, she tilted her head to the side. "That isn't yours."

No, it was Robin's, the one that got stolen after he was ambushed in one of his runs with Will, so assuming this was the infamous man who took it, she wondered why he were still around.

Even Robin himself believed him to be far away already...

"It is now. Haven't gotten used to it yet but... I'll get the hang out of it soon."

"We saw him with you, Robin. Is he going after the Gold's men?" The woman asked, walking around her so that she could stand by the man's side.

Chewing on her tongue and with her senses in overload, Regina studied the situation. She didn't have many options there and her basic instinct of survival, apparently aware of that, was provoking the little hairs along her spine to stand on edge.

"Why do you know about those men?" She asked, wary because the one handed asshole was still pointing the crossbow at her. Sure, with him being one handed, she doubted he had any good aim, but he was still too close for her to take any chances.

Probably because her eyes were glued to the stolen weapon, the blonde woman motioned the hook man to lower it down.

He did, but it was the woman the one who spoke next. "We know more about Gold's men than you will ever do and I'm telling you, you two better go back the same way you came in if you want to live."

"Okay. Give me my things and I'll make sure to mention it to Robin." And really, she didn't want to waste more time with them, not when she could instead go and find the jerk that ditched her before he did something stupid.

Because yes, he was an asshole and she was a hell of a lot angry with him, but above anything, the man was part of her group and she wasn't going to let him fall on his own. That was what their group did, they stood with one another no matter what. It was probably why he went to look out for her in the woods, because if they didn't catch each other when they messed up, then they would all fall together.

So yes, that was what she had planned, get Robin so they could go together back to Storybrooke and warn the others... or go down helping him deal with Gold's men so they wouldn't go after their home.

"Your things? Oh this is ours now."

"Now don't be such a dick, K." The woman said and surprisingly, she gave the guns back to Regina. "I'm Emma, this asshole here is Killian."

Looking at them in turns, she hesitated before speaking. She did it while securing the strap of the rifle across her chest. "Regina."

"Well... Regina, your man is as good as dead if he went after them. They are like cockroaches, they keep multiplying and where you see three of them, four more come by and before you know it, you are surrounded with nowhere to go. If you are smart, you'll leave now."

Snarling her lips and not exactly liking the man, Regina scoffed. "Yeah, thanks for the advice."

Smiling, Killian shrugged. "Since you are not going to follow said advice, I guess you wouldn't mind us holding this for you?" Patting at her backpack, he arched an eyebrow.

Now, Regina knew that pleading for the rest of her things was only going to take more of her time and not really caring about losing more than what she already did, she swirled on the heels of her boots and started to walk away.

"Whatever."

Now, she half expected him to shoot at her, and it wasn't until she walked all the way around the building, that she let go of the breath she has been holding onto.

Apparently, she was now safe from them, so it was time to look for Robin.

She had a pretty good feeling that he went straight to the group of men they saw earlier on and that was where she headed to. And much as she assumed, he was there alright, only that not in the situation she has been hoping to.

"Shit." She hissed, making sure not to make too much noise. She was at a safe distance but it was better to be safe by not drawing attention.

"Told you so." Came the voice of the dark haired man from somewhere behind her.

Startled but without even bothering to look at him, Regina grabbed her rifle and pointed it at one of the men surrounding Robin. There were five of them, and judging by the scene unfolding in front of her eyes, they were taking turns giving the man a beating.

There were also four more laying on the grass, and she was going to assume those were dead. Probably thanks to Robin, and that was why the remaining ones were not too happy with their attacker.

"Your man took out those, the rest of them probably came out after. That's what they do, they gang on people. There will be more coming."

"He's not my man."

In her mind, she was calculating how many she could take down before they realized she was there. Her take was probably two, so that would leave three of them. Maybe she could even take a third one… yes, it was a gamble, but it was better than leaving Robin to his fate.

Not thinking much about it, she took the first shot, then the second one and even a third. She got two of them right in the head.

"Are you fucking out of your mind?" Killian almost shouted and before the men could turn around to where the shots came from, he himself took them down with a small gun he has been packing.

Not bothering to offer a reply or even a thank you for the assistance, Regina started to run towards Robin. The five shots were definitely going to draw the attention of not only more men, but also walkers, so she did her best to get to him as fast as she could.

He was already on his feet, banged up but in one piece. When he saw her, he spat blood on the grass and then wiped his also bloody nose with the back of his hand. "What the bloody hell you think you're doing? Didn't I tell you to get the fuck back to Storybrooke."

Not really surprised by his response, Regina took a couple of guns from the fallen man. "Yeah, you're welcome for saving your stupid ass."

Facing him to tell him to better hurry, she saw as his eyes shifted from her and landed on something behind her. She didn't have to look because by the way his eyes darkened and his jaw locked, she just knew that he spotted Killian.

The man he and Will have been bitching about all over Storybrooke.

"Son of a bitch."

Before she could do something about it, Robin was rushing past her and in a matter of nothing, he was onto the other man. It happened fast, and for being a man who just took a beating, he didn't even miss a beat. He didn't even seem to mind that the other man had a hook he could easily use against him, and before she could react, they were fighting, throwing wild punches at each other while Emma tried to make them stop.

Rolling her eyes and taking in a deep breath, the brown-eyed woman went to them and did as the other woman, try to make them stop.

"Robin." She tried to grab for him, but the thing was that he wouldn't let her. He was fully into acting like a macho man brute, so taking a risk, she got in front of him and putting her hands to his chest, she snapped. "Stop it! He helped okay, he helped."

Panting and scrunching his nose, the man halted. His eyes were scorching though as he stared daggers at the other one. Regina watched all that, her hands still pressed to him, feeling the way his heart beat hard and fast into his chest.

He was hot too, there was a warmness irradiating out of him in huge waves and even through the fabric of his clothes, she could feel it.

For some reason, that sent a shiver running down her spine and it forced her to take her hands immediately off his chest so that she could instead grab at his arms. "Come on, we have to go."

Visibly swallowing down, he moved down the intensity of his glare to her, making her take notice that in his rotten mood, his eyes were the darkest blue she has ever seen.

That made her heart skip a beat.

It was a weird thing, but never before has she seen the intensity of those eyes directed at her while being so angry. Pissed? Yes, even annoyed, and for a while, he has looked at her with an intensity she hadn't quite deciphered when they were trapped in the coffin.

But this was something else and she wasn't going to lie, it disconcerted her.

"I have some unfinished business to deal with here, so go back to Storybrooke like I told you, Regina, and let me deal with him." He said through clenched teeth as his eyes returned to Killian.

"Bring it mate, I'm sure as hell not scared of you."

"For fuck's sake, Killian, shut up. You are not helping here." Turning to them, Emma sighed. "They'll be here soon so if you two could cooperate for a second, we may be able to find a way out. Now come on, I know of a place." The blonde finished talking and yes, in the distance, Regina could listen to the sound of vehicles approaching.

Getting on high alert mode, she tugged at Robin's arm. "Don't be stupid now. This guy is not worth getting caught for."

Spitting more blood and clutching at his side, Robin listened to her. That way, they both followed Killian and Emma deep into the woods. They went after them without saying a word, not between them and not to the others. They walked for what seemed forever.

Sometimes she thought they finally lost the ones following them and sometimes, feeling them at their heels.

The only good thing was that the woods had been cleared of walkers by the same ones who were now pursuing them, so they didn't have much trouble moving around.

"You should have listened to what I said instead of following me." Robin spoke after a while, his voice raw and apparently, emotionless.

Looking at him over her shoulder, Regina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and you would be dead if I did. You were getting quite a beating so you're welcome to the thanks you never said-"

"Yeah, and I was taking such beating so that you could have enough time to get the hell away. Now we don't have one thing nor the other, so yeah… thank you very much. Now we are all fucked."

With that said he pushed forward, walking right in front of her as she was left behind, her lips quirked and her mood getting even more sour by the second.

She couldn't just believe the nerve of the asshole. But yeah, whatever, screw him.

After some time and lots of walking, they came upon a river, and the first thing Regina noticed was a dinghy boat tied to a tree nearby, probably so it wouldn't float away.

Frowning, she looked at the duo of strangers.

Now, Killian and Emma were mumbling among themselves and when Regina noticed their hushed tones, she clenched her teeth in distrust. She could also sense Robin's acrid mood emanating out of him, and just to make sure he wouldn't get creative, she stood right between them. "What is this?"

It was Emma the one who turned to them. "Okay, I know this is going to sound crazy but… there's a community… and we've been communicating with them for some time now. They… it is a peculiar place but they take people like us in. K and I. The thing is, that we are not ready to go yet, we have stuff to deal with first; but if Gold's men see the boat..."

"If they do, they will go for them and destroy them. We can't let that happen."

"You're talking in riddles." Regina said annoyed because really, so much beating around the bushes when she was already so annoyed was irking.

"We can't go now, but you can. They said that when we were ready, we just needed to come here. It's a smooth ride… you'll make it in no time."

"No… no fucking way, we're not getting in that thing." Robin complained and she actually felt him approaching from behind; he didn't get past that point though.

"They are upon us. Killian and I can both get rid of them or we can run. You don't know these woods like we do and we can't let them know about this community."

"Look, we can't go. We have to reach our own community and warn them. These people apparently want to mess with them so we need to be there. You go, we can figure out what to do."

"Well, Emma and I will go to this community of yours and warn them ourselves, Storybrooke, right?"

"The hell you will."

Robin put his hands on Regina's back as if to make her move. Killian saw it, so walking to them with a determined look on his face, he reached for her hand and pulled hard at her, dragging her out of the way awkwardly.

Robin tried to pull her back, she could even see how he stepped forward to step in front of her, so apparently changing his plan, what Killian did was shove her hard.

"Killian, no!"

Stumbling, Regina looked up just in time to see how in the confusion of everything, Killian used an arrow to stab Robin's side; then as quickly as it went in, he pulled it out.

"No!" She yelled, reaching for her gun. She didn't have time to take a hold of it though, as Emma wrapped an arm around her neck and swirled her around.

She almost fell to the ground with the force of it; then, when she was able to steady herself, she saw that now Emma was pointing the gun at her.

"I'm going to fucking kill you." She heard Robin say and a huge sense of relief washed over her at hearing his voice. He sounded even more angrier than before, but alright under the circumstances.

"Touch him and I'll blow her brains out."

"Get in the fucking boat, they won't turn you around now that you are hurt."

Hoping that Emma wouldn't shoot her after Robin stopped his advance towards Killian, Regina walked past the couple and made it to the wounded man.

He was hurt alright, but nothing that couldn't get fixed with the proper care. That was why she immediately pressed the palm of her hand to the wound. "You have to lay down, we need to stop the bleeding. Come on."

Grunting, Robin didn't move, and if it wasn't because they started to hear approaching voices, he wouldn't have done it.

Getting into the boat, he lay down and when Killian started the engine to send them away, Regina sent one last look at them, it was full of hatred.

She didn't let go of the intense stare until she could no longer see them.

"You should have done what I told you to do… you would have been halfway home by now."

Looking down, her eyes meet his. She was still pressing into his wound, hard enough in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "What, and miss on saving your ass twice. No way."

Instead of replying, what Robin did was twist his lips in an apparent grimace of pain, his eyes searching for hers.

On her part, Regina watched him, her eyes on his and in way, feeling glad that her hands were busy, as she had a strong desire to brush her fingers into his hair and maybe down his face, and that was the last thing she needed to be doing.

"I'll fucking kill that asshole. You hurt?"

Knowing that it was hard to tell from his vantage point since she was all covered in blood, she scoffed. "I'm okay."

Wrinkling his nose, Robin nodded, closing his eyes and saying nothing more.

She wasn't sure how long they rode in the boat, but even though the blood already stopped, she didn't dare take her hands away.

One thing she was sure of, was that he has lost a good amount of it and that his face was starting to look a little too pale.

"Hey, are you still here with me?"

"Mhh." He mumbled and she blew out a breath.

Looking away from him, she scanned her surroundings, her eye catching on something.

"I can't believe this." She said to herself while looking around and noticing that there were a couple of men dressed in white tunics. She didn't really know what they were all about, but when one of them got into the water and grabbed for the boat as they passed by, she swallowed down and tensed all over.

"Welcome to Eden." The man said and for some reason she couldn't exactly point out, she didn't like him. "You've come to the right place, oh yes you did."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Regina couldn't quite believe what she just heard…

Sure, the explanation came easy enough and it really wasn't that hard to understand, but as she sat with her arms crossed against her chest and a stupefied look upon her face, she couldn't find the right words to reply.

"Wow." She said at last, her eyes widening and her teeth biting hard into the soft flesh of the inside of her cheek.

"It is a good thing that you came with a husband already, I mean you are married right?"

"Mmhh." She mumbled with a forced smile, not really knowing what to say.

As it turned out, Killian and Emma had signed up for a community of religious freaks that were set in their beliefs that repopulating earth was God's plan to fight against the demons that walked outside, and they were apparently very committed to it. That was why they founded Eden, a safe haven where couples could just live in and procreate in biblical proportions.

Their modus operandus was easy… simple; women worked inside the safe walls of the premises and popped out babies, while men impregnated them in their free time. Yes, because their real work was to go outside and fight what they called the demons.

"Good, makes it easier for us, as we don't take single women in… I mean we do, but then we have to marry them to a member of the community and unfortunately, we don't happen to have many of those at the moment. That's why I think your arrival was a gift from God. You and your husband are a great addition to the community and we pray we will have many of your children running around in the years to come." Clearing her throat, the woman started to scribble down on a notebook.

Half horrified, Regina's eyes widened. "Wow… I don't know? I mean, Robin and I were not exactly looking for this, um… he was hurt and in the rush of everything we did get into that boat but-"

"I know it can be quite a shock at first because out there, a safe haven like this is not even imaginable. But you are here now, and you are part of our community and we'll take care of you the same way we took care of your husband when we found him. We provided everything he needed to survive, didn't we? And we'll do the same from now on, for you two and your children."

"Okay…" She fought against the urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but since Robin was still recuperating from his wound, she decided that until he was better and they could take off, she better play along.

"So I was saying, we are really glad you are here, and hopefully your husband will get better soon so we can start working with you two. Have you seen the room assigned?"

"Yes. It's great." And really, Eden was perfect for its purpose, mind you; after all it was located by the coast, in an old hotel fortified well enough so that residents could roam safely around in their idyllic bubbles. The rooms? According to the sign by the lobby, five stars.

She was even told they had access to a beach and what she was able to see of the gardens, reminded her of a park in the old days. So yes, it was a bizarre situation the one they got themselves into, but at least it was an aesthetically satisfying one.

Even Robin has been impressed... Sure, he didn't exactly say it, but she read it on his face.

"Well, I won't take more of your time as I am sure your husband awaits you." With that said, Blue, how the woman who happened to be pregnant with her third child made herself be called, got up and showed Regina to the door. "I'll see you two tonight at dinner, right?"

"Sure,"

Walking out of the office and hurrying towards the room they assigned to them, the brunette closed the door and rested her back to the door. "We have to get the hell out of here, the sooner the better."

Robin was sitting on the balcony, chewing on the inside of his thumb, and just as he did when she told him she was going out, he just stared at her for a few seconds before looking away.

It didn't surprise her, not when he hadn't said much since they got there anyway. Hell, he barely even spoke a word when she herself patched up his wound so why would he do it now?

Walking in because that was the only way to go, the woman started to look for things they could take with them when the time came. There were blankets, clothes and all the toiletries they could need. She even saw a moisturizer lotion and despite herself, she gasped in delight and put some on her arms.

Once that was done, she went to the balcony and blew out a breath.

Now, Robin was paying no attention to her, but she did pay some to him by scanning him over, taking notice that he grabbed onto the hint she gave him earlier on of playing along and got a shower. He was even wearing the shirt and trousers they gave him, and she wondered if that was why he had the long face; after all, it was definitely not the kind of clothes he would normally wear.

It made her look different, and not exactly in a bad way.

"They want us out to mingle tonight so I was thinking that maybe we can do it… you know, to check for a weak point to bolt out when you are ready."

"I'm ready now."

"Don't be stupid. You may be high on painkillers right now, but you still need to rest; you also need to heal that wound and get some strength back. Besides, we need to know where the hell we are, so no...we can't leave now. We have to do this right." Because yeah, other than knowing they were by the coast, they knew nothing of their whereabouts

They could be anywhere, because after being taken out of the boat, they were put on a bus and then they rode on it for a long time; so as far as she knew, they probably weren't even in Maine anymore.

"It wouldn't hurt to gather provisions and if possible, get a few guns too." She added, walking back into the room and getting into the bathroom to change.

Now, just as what probably happened to Robin, what they gave her to wear wasn't by any means something she would have picked up if given the choice; but it was all of what she had, especially now that the few clothes she had on her backpack, were in Killian's possession.

As for what she was given there? They were mostly dresses, most of them quite ugly, but at least they fit, so... with a shrug, she took a quick shower and got dressed.

For the hell of it and to keep with the charade, she even did her hair and applied a bit of makeup, but the perfume they put among her new things, she left it untouched as it smelled pretty bad.

Once she was done and ready, she walked back into the room and motioned Robin that it was time to go.

This time, he did look at her, the blue of his eyes drinking on her appearances. He did it for a few consecutive seconds, and maybe it was all in her mind, but she kind of saw how his eyes stopped for a moment over her modest cleavage and then to the way the fabric hugged her frame.

Sure, the dress was plain and modest, but after long months of wearing nothing but pants, boots and whatever was convenient to evade walkers scratching her arms, the simple piece of fabric was over exposing her. She was showing too much leg and shoulders, and most definitely, too much skin right up front.

So, could it be that he liked what he saw?

"What?" She asked at last, "Do I look bad?"

At the sudden question, Robin's lips twisted, as if he was considering his answer, but at the end, he just shrugged and said nothing.

Scoffing and rolling her eyes, Regina turned and sat by the bed to accommodate her shoes, discreetly looking down to what she was wearing and wondering what he really thought of it. Yes, it was stupid and she knew it, as the last thing she needed to be worrying about was whatever Robin might think of her looks, but still, the itch to know was there...

"You know we won't convince anyone out there that we are happily married if you are going to just sit there brooding or worse, putting all your assholes cards on the table, so I don't know, how about if you play nice even if it is for tonight, yes?"

Still on the balcony, Robin arched an eyebrow. "This whole thing is stupid and you know it, we should be on our way to Storybrooke right now and not playing around in here."

"Oh you think I want to be here? Because I don't, I mean, I just sat with Mother Theresa as she ran her mouth on and on about how much of a blessing we are to the community, and as she talked-"

"Did you right out told her to let us go?" Interrupting her, Robin asked slowly, even when his tone was dripping with impatience.

It made Regina snort, because really, who the hell did he think he was?

"You know what? It was not my psychotic nemesis the one that got us here, it was yours. He stabbed you, put us in that boat and basically signed us up into this… baby-making-couples retreat or whatever. So can you stop acting like this is my fault?"

"It is, Regina… because you should have done what I told you to do and head straight to Storybrooke."

"Oh my God, are you going to go back to that? You would have been dead right now if I would have listened to you."

"You don't know that."

"Sure, because you're fucking Rambo, right? And you would have single handedly defeated all of those assholes on your own, with nothing but your power of will, hm? You're ridiculous, that's what you are."

"You are the one being ridiculous here."

"Yeah? And you're the one being… lame."

For some reason, Robin scoffed at her comeback, his brows furrowing and his hands lifting up in the air. "Lame, really?"

Groaning, Regina placed a hand to the top of her head and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. "Just… bear with me a little here, will you? You just need to play pretend like you know how it is to be nice and happy for once? At least until we find a way out that won't get us killed in an Inquisition or something like that?"

With that said, she got back to her feet and made it to the door.

"Now come on, the sooner we get this over with, the better."

"I fucking hate this."

"I know, me too."

Grunting and showing the foul mood in him, Robin got up and without saying another word, he went out with her.

Outside, they saw how couples walked hand in hand through the gardens; there were not many as to crowd the place, but there were quite a few… definitely more than what she expected and all of them, apparently happily in love.

"This is kind of creepy. What kind of psycho do you have to be to be truly happy these days?"

Robin scoffed, nothing more and nothing less, and for a moment, Regina though he was going to leave it there. But he didn't, and much to her surprise, he added to the conversation. "You'll be amazed by how many people chose to live in denial rather than facing the harsh reality of what's out there. We have some of those back in Storybrooke."

Arching an eyebrow, Regina's lips curved. "Are you talking about Mary Margaret?"

It was a subtle thing, but Regina could have sworn his lips twitched into the shadow of a smile. "I won't name any names."

Humming, Regina clicked her tongue to her cheek. "Well… it must be nice, you know? turning a blind eye on everything and play pretend this is normal."

"Trust me on that one; it doesn't work, not for long anyway. I've seen it happen too many times. People get a false sense of comfort, maybe even normalcy and their guard lowers down. It plays out for a while, I guess, but at the end it's always the same. It comes crashing on you, hard… and getting from that it's not peaches and cream."

Narrowing her eyes as she had a sense that he was talking about something personal, Regina looked at him, to the strong outline of his jaw, covered by a stubble that already needed a trim, and yeah, especially to his eyes as he looked into the distance.

"Did it happen to you?"

Moving his head to the side, Robin settled his eyes on hers and yes, it came back into her mind how she didn't really know much about him. Who he was before, who he lost, how… his story, and in a way, she was curious.

But, as always, Robin kept his answer cryptic, neither confirming nor denying. "Didn't it happen to us all?"

Knowing not to push it and not wanting to walk into her own trap of having to talk about her own shit, Regina shrugged.

"I don't know… but you know what I do know? That this whole place is giving me bad vibes. It's like being in a bad horror movie disguised under a cheesy romance film."

"We are already living the equivalent of a horror film, so these bad vibes you're having? They should be the norm everywhere you turn to."

Humming, she agreed. "True… but still, I don't like it here."

With that said, the two of them started to inspect the surroundings as discreetly as they could, noticing first that the walls were too high, all in concrete, so that climbing out was not an option. They also took notice that the gates were secured with armed men that didn't look too friendly.

"And if we just ask them to let us out?" She asked with a scoff. But, before Robin could even respond, the woman who interviewed her earlier on intercepted them and dragged them to dinner.

They went along, staying mostly silent, but it was an awful experience nonetheless, one where the only good thing was the wine and the food.

It was because of that, that as soon as they were able to, they sneaked out, right after Blue, the pregnant woman who apparently was in charge, suggested they should take a walk through the beach. It was the last thing they needed to do, but wanting to get her off their backs, she said they would.

It was apparently a favorite thing for newcomers, so obviously wanting them to get all frisky in their alone time, Blue even gave them a bottle of wine to enjoy on their walk. Regina took it, she even thanked the woman for it, but she couldn't help but to cringe at the thought of all the women who got pregnant after walking along that beach.

Robin didn't say anything until they got out of the restaurant. "What the fuck is with this place."

"The hell if I know." Snorting because she told him it was a weird place and he didn't believe her, Regina gave the wine to him.

She didn't want it, not when last time she got drunk, she did something stupid, and since she already had a couple of glasses on herself, she didn't want a repeat. "Maybe we could find something by the beach, I mean they can't have fences there, right?"

Only that they did, not on concrete, but guarded ones.

"Well… shit." She said as she watched the men patrolling the fences; but even as she said that, she couldn't help but to look around in appreciation too.

The ocean... it may sound silly, but that was a sight she thought she would never see again and that she was there, lifted her spirit in some peaceful kind of way.

It was just… soothing, so closing her eyes, she breathed into the salty air. "I thought I would never get to see the ocean again."

Taking off her shoes, she buried her feet into the sand and wriggled her toes.

"I never liked the beach."

Feeling personally insulted by those words, Regina opened her eyes and groaned. "Get out, are you serious?"

Turning to him, she watched how he just stood there, eyes lost in the distance as the breeze made his hair go in all directions. She also noticed how the white buttoned shirt he was wearing gave a hint of the outline of his chest and the defined muscles in his arms and sure, how he casually chewed on his lips. It was ridiculous that she was so entranced, but he was like a mirage standing there and she couldn't help but to appreciate it.

Shrugging, Robin set his eyes on her. "It was never my thing."

"Well I grew up loving the ocean. My parents had a house down by the beach and even when I was nothing but a little girl, I could just sit for hours looking at it and playing with my sister."

"So you were a rich girl… why does that surprise me?"

Taking in a deep breath, Regina shrugged. "We did okay… I guess." Actually, her family and herself did more than okay, and as long as she could remember, she has always been able to live a good life. Nice cars, nice clothes, a nice penthouse in San Francisco, all by herself.

It was ridiculous to think about it now, and in a way, strange to realize that the Regina of long ago, would be horrified by the person she became.

So yeah, she kind of understood why he couldn't picture her living that life either.

"I kind of forgot about all that, you know, the old world."

"The old world doesn't matter anymore."

Tearing her eyes from his because the glint in his eyes was confusing her, Regina turned towards the ocean and sighed. "Maybe… but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate the little things this new fucked up world throws at us, so come on, take off your shoes."

"Nah."

"Don't be an ass and take them off, I'm going to show you why you've been wrong all your life when it came to not liking the beach." Venturing to look at him again, she said.

"You go, I'm good here." He waved her off.

"Come on." Walking to him, she grabbed his arm and tugged at him. She had to pull a couple of times before he finally gave in.

He groaned a complaint, but once barefoot and his pants rolled up his calves, he walked with her towards the shore. She kept her hand on his arm, liking the contact and the fact that he wasn't pulling away from her touch.

It was good, almost surreal… but then, as soon as the water made contact with her feet, the spell was broken and she gasped as an icy shiver ran from her toes to her spine. "Oh my God it's so cold."

As if in automatic, she dragged her hand towards his and grabbed it for support. She even gave it a light squeeze that he didn't reject, but once she realized what she was doing, she let go of his hand and bent a little to touch the water.

"This is not what I expected. West coast is definitely not as cold as this, at least not at this time of the year."

"This is not that cold, I take it you haven't gone swimming in a river." His tone, soft to the point of being mellow, made Regina arch an eyebrow.

She wasn't going to say it, but his british accent was somehow smoother when he talked like that and yeah… she liked it.

"No, I haven't. Some lakes, the ocean, but never a river."

"Then you're missing out."

Biting on her lips to fight the smile that wanted to form in her face by the simple fact that they were having a conversation without tearing each other apart, Regina tilted her head up towards the sky. It was a moonless night, but the sight of thousands of stars looking down on them was stunning nonetheless. "Is it cold like this?"

Waiting for a reply, she felt a good amount of icy-cold liquid reaching up to her shoulders, face and torso. "What the…" She began to say, with the shock of it, a little late to realize he just splashed water all over her.

"Colder." With that said, Robin threw himself into the ocean while she stood there trembling, her mouth hanging open and her shock barometer high.

What could she say? What he just did was definitely not something she has expected the man to do. It was an utter surprise, true... but in a way, it was also interesting to see a playful side of him.

So yes, witnessing that side of him was a first for her, but more than that, it made her realize that it has been such a long time since she also allowed herself to act in such a careless way herself.

Not like it was her fault, after all, for the past two years, everything has been tragedy after tragedy so there was actually little time to enjoy the little things.

Sure, once settled in Storybrooke, she was kind of able to lay down her boots and enjoy some peace and in a way, she had more than a few moments of actual laughter with Mal. But all of that has been dulled by the oppression of being in a place that was menacing to suffocate her.

That moment felt different… because even though she was trapped somewhere else and there were actually lots of concerns about what could happen to her community, the ocean breeze made her feel somehow better.

It was a strange thing… how quickly she forgot about how this felt… how easy it was to forget how life was more than just surviving and turning the other cheek when reality kept bitch slapping you in the face and in that moment, even if it was for a little while, she felt like letting her hair down and forget about Gold, walkers and escaping this so called Eden.

She wasn't going to feel guilty about it either. It was like this, she could enjoy the moment, or she could go back to her room and complain about her bad luck.

Blinking rapidly and shaking herself back to reality, she watched as Robin disappeared into the water and then emerged deeper into the ocean. "You are such a fucking asshole."

Swirling around as if he was looking for something, he shrugged. "Yup, think you said that already."

"Well I'll keep saying it as long as you keep being one."

Humming, he got closer to her and she noticed that if his shirt gave up the outline of his frame before, now it didn't leave anything to the imagination. That made her realize that by wearing a white dress herself, she wasn't in a different situation than him.

Was that why he was looking at her that way? Was she showing too much?

Feeling goose bumps all over her arms but unsure if it was because the way his eyes were scanning her over or because it was so damn cold, she got deeper into the ocean. Once where she wanted, she sat down so that the water could reach at least to her shoulders instead of leaving her all exposed.

But as the water embraced her whole with its iciness, she gasped again and yes, maybe she even whined. It was way too cold. "Screw this, I am not made for cold water."

Who cared about being carefree when she could be warm?

Getting to her feet and rubbing her hands to her arms, she walked out.

"Regina."

Her intentions have been making it to their room and out of the wet dress, but when she heard him call out to her, she turned to him. She could count with one hand the times he has used her name and still have fingers left so that he used it, picked up her attention.

She waited until he got out of the water, then, she just watched as he got real close to her and after a quick look to the guard, he spoke in a low tone.

"You'll have to get used to it because that's how we'll get out. If we swim around that blind spot over there, we can make it to the other side. Once we bail we can get us some wheels and find out what's going on in Storybrooke."

Trembling, she looked to the spot he said and nodded. It was a breakwater the hotel probably constructed before so yes, it could work. It would have to be at night though.

"We can find another blind spot along the fence so we can throw our things and pick them up at the other side. It will be tricky but better than swimming with them."

Yes, it was probably the only way since she was sure that place was like Hotel California, you could check out anytime you wanted but you could never leave.

It was a good plan, she was going to say that out loud, but when she looked at him, she noticed that he was bleeding from the wound and with a groan, she rolled her eyes. "Well we are not swimming anywhere until that heals. Come here." She motioned him to lean against a spot near the fence where the guard couldn't easily see and once he did, she undid the lower buttons of his shirt so that she could inspect the wound. "I don't know how you get so stupid."

The bandage was wet so she took it off, making sure that none of the stitches got messed. They looked alright, and he was not bleeding anymore so she guessed he was fine. Maybe he strained them a little but that was it.

"Guess we can let it breathe for a while." Looking up, she saw that his eyes were set on her and when she lifted her head, the blue orbs settled on hers. It entranced her for a few seconds where all she did was get lost in his stare.

During those seconds, she didn't even realize that her fingers were resting on his exposed bruised stomach, so when it hit her, she took her hand away and clearing her throat, she started to button his shirt back up.

Yes, she has touched his skin and even seen him in plain daylight when she was stitching him up, but somehow, that has been different.

As she was patching him up, he wasn't looking at her that way and being busy herself with the task at hand, she hadn't even noticed the way his muscles tensed under her touch or how firm he felt.

"You have to be careful though, without the proper care, those stitches can get infected."

Now, even though she wasn't looking, she could still feel his eyes burning on her and pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue, she shook her head. All of a sudden everything was too silent, only the soft sound of waves crashing against the shore ringed in her ears, and that made her feel too self-conscious of him and his closeness.

Her wet dress felt too tight as it got glued to her like a second skin, her hair was probably too messed and she wondered if the little make up she applied was running down her face. She was sure that even her underwear was visible under the almost see-through dress, and she cussed at picking white clothes instead of a darker color.

Not that she could do anything about all that now…

"You'll have to stop looking at me like that." She said finally. Her fingers felt numb and the coldness was making her shiver a little, meaning that it was taking her forever to finish the task and well, he wasn't helping either.

"Like what?" He asked and his voice was so low on his throat, that she just had to look up into his eyes.

He was still doing it, looking at her as if he wanted to tell her something but not quite doing it, and she had to lower her head back down so she could finish with the buttons. "Like you are doing now." She considered her next words very carefully. "Like you wouldn't mind kissing me."

To that he said nothing, so once the last of the buttons were done, she grabbed the edge of his shirt between her fingers and looked up.

"Just stop it, okay?"

But he wasn't stopping; if anything, she was sure that he was looking at her more intently and she wondered what he was thinking. With him it was always hard to tell, which only increased her curiosity.

"I'm not looking at you like that, and I am not going to kiss you."

Rolling her eyes and pouting her lips, Regina let go of his shirt and made to turn around. She didn't know why, but for some reason, what he said rubbed her the wrong way.

"Right… I mean I forgot you only kiss me when you are about to ditch me and since we are trapped here, it won't happen." And yes, she addressed the kiss he gave her because someone needed to do it and it was obviously not going to be him. "Now where's the damn bottle of wine?" Maybe she was going to need it after all.

She has been wrong, she couldn't do this sober.

"Yeah, get all dramatic and shit, because we know how bad that always ends up turning into."

Regina has been walking away from him when he said that, but as soon as the words were out, she turned around and closed the distance. She did it without thinking, like most things she usually ended up regretting. "Why are you so afraid of me?"

Snorting, he shook his head. "Now don't be ridiculous."

For a moment that seemed to drag into eternity, she delved deep into his eyes. He matched the intensity of that quick glance, but he said no more and that was when she realized how tiresome this thing with Robin not being as straightforward as she thought him to be was becoming. It was like he was trying so hard to keep her at a distance while at the same time, keeping her at hand, and it wasn't only confusing with all the mixed signals, but it was also annoying.

"Right." She sighed, looking up to the skies once again. "Good night Robin."

As she turned to leave, the man grabbed her arm and made her face him. Then, much as he did once before, he grabbed for her face and kissed her.

He did it more tenderly this time, lowering his hands to her waist as soon as her lips were secure against his and pulling her closer.

And as she was apparently doomed to repeat, she kissed him back; her annoyance on hold as her own hands went up into his hair.

Sighing, she pressed to him, drinking on sensation. His tongue felt warm as it swirled against hers and she could faintly detect a hint of the wine they had at diner. It felt good, he felt good.

They kissed for a while, long and deep until she was sure the taste of him was going to be forever in her mouth and until her lungs felt about to explode; after that they kissed even more, his breath becoming hers while their tongues dueled slowly, exploring one another while his hands ventured a little lower so he could press her even more into him.

Then, as she knew it would happen, he pulled away.

Licking her lips, Regina kept her eyes closed and lowered her head, expecting him to either say one of his cutting comments or just walk away. He did neither one of those.

"There, is that what you wanted?"

Opening her eyes and facing him, she swallowed on dry. "Didn't you?"

He was still holding her to him and his hands lowered even more, resting over her ass before retreating completely.

Not that she was having any of that. She wasn't ready to give up on the moment just yet so before he could go or talk, she went back to kissing him.

He easily got into returning the kiss, taking control of it and even swirling her around so he could press her to the fence, pinning her body with his and claiming all of her senses by the feelings provoked.

His hands were now running down her sides, moving lower and lower through her body until they reached her hips and then back to her ribcage.

Feeling feverish and no longer cold and wanting to feel even more of him, she wrapped an arm to his neck and pushed into him, and as she did that, she felt the unmistakable feeling of his erection pressing to her thigh.

Letting out a soft moan into his mouth, Regina felt her entire body tremble. But as all good things, the kiss came to an end when he broke the contact once again.

Breathless and flushed, she looked at him. It was then when realization hit her; they have been making out and that was a big no, no.

"This is not about wanting to kiss you, Regina. Go on, get back to the room."

Not really understanding what he said and what did it mean, she nodded and without saying a word, she walked out by herself. He remained behind and somehow, she was glad.

The truth was that she didn't need more complications in her life and a man, any man, was going to be just that. Robin and his mood swings even more.

"But that kiss, oh my God." She mumbled as the memory of it took hold of her.

Hiding her face into her hands, the brunette woman groaned. She didn't know how she knew it, but she was sure she was about to have the longest couple of days ahead, and she couldn't decide if that was really bad or really good.

The only thing she knew was that sometime, Robin was also going back to their room and after that little episode they just had, who knew what could happen.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"So you are saying that we can't leave?" Letting her own words resonate through the office, Regina Mills nodded her head absentmindedly while letting it all sink in, and as she did that, she pursed her lips in surprise.

Sure, she has come to the woman's office half expecting a negative answer, but what she hadn't expected was for the pregnant woman and apparent person in charge of the community to say it like that, so resounding and final.

"Look, Regina. I understand that you've been here for just a few days and that maybe you still don't understand the work we do here and the impact we're are successfully making in the reconstruction of the new world, but-"

"No, I get what you are doing here and I respect it." She interrupted, her eyes taking on the way Blue crossed her arms over her ample bosom. She didn't look pleased at being interrupted, but that didn't keep the newcomer from talking. "But the thing is that we, as in Robin and me? We don't belong here. We have our own people and we need to get back to them."

Three days have been too long already and she was getting antsy, because who knew what was happening back home while they remained there.

"I'm sorry, you are already baptized by The Order. Once you take the journey through the river you are reborn into our faith and we are now your only family. You, your husband and your future children will be forever be taken care of. Why would you want to change that?"

Chuckling and running a hand down her face, Regina allowed her nails to lightly scratch her neck once her fingers reached down. She wanted to yell in frustration. She wanted to snap and tell this woman that they only got into the river because they were basically forced into it and that no, that the man who welcomed them to Eden pouring water over their heads was definitely not a baptism. Not a voluntary one at least.

They didn't even know what the hell was that about as it happened, no… Robin has been half unconscious to even notice and she has been too preoccupied about all the blood he lost.

But she couldn't say that, now that she got a no as an answer, they would have to stick to Robin's plan of escaping; and if they wanted to do that, they needed to stay off the radar and just play along.

"Okay… you know, you are right. It's just that we are having a hard time adjusting. This is all so…" She tried to find the words, but she came up blank.

"We know that being out there for so long can be rough and sometimes that takes a toll in relationships. That's why here at Eden, we do everything we can to make you feel comfortable. Are you comfortable?"

Standing from the chair, Regina tried to smile. "We are comfortable, just got a little homesick."

"We've noticed that you and Robin are not exactly close and like I said, we want to make everything in our power to make this work. Could it be that you would rather let us get you another husband?"

"What?" Regina guffawed, using her hands to grab the edge of the seat.

"You are young and pretty, so finding a man who wants to provide for you would be no problem. We've already had a few candidates come here to make their interest known, one of them even willing to let you keep seeing Robin if you fancy to. If you don't and would rather cut ties, we can find Robin a new wife as well, or if it's more to his liking, he can dedicate his life to the crusades."

At the one Blue dropped, Regina opened her mouth but no words came out, she didn't know what to say. But knowing she needed to say something, anything, she shook her head and blurted the first thing that she could think of. "No, I… I'll keep Robin."

"Good, then I'll personally keep an eye on you to monitor your progress. I'm going to schedule an appointment with our doctor so he can examine you; then, we'll proceed to make you and Robin start blessing the world with all the children you can bear."

Her eyes opened wide, but taking that as her cue to go, she turned around and began to leave. But before she could take the first step, Blue called for her.

"Regina." Turning to her again, she just stared. "A woman's natural role is to be the pillar of her family and you are about to start yours. This is home now, so you have to make it work."

Biting her tongue, she nodded and after thanking the woman and receiving yet another bottle of wine to help Robin and her 'bond', she left.

She walked straight into the room they were given and upon entering, the first thing she noticed was Robin packing some of the things they had gathered during the last couple of days and throwing them into a duffel bag.

Closing the door behind her back and then locking it, Regina observed him. They hadn't been exactly on speaking terms as of late… hell, they had barely been in the same room for more than a couple of hours of total silence and uncomfortable tension since the kiss at the beach, and she was unsure if she should break said silence to reveal the conversation she just had with Blue.

She probably should, as it did concern him too, but she was giving him the same silent treatment he has been giving her and she just refused to be the first one talking.

She was stubborn like that.

If it was up to her, she would ignore him so hard until he would even doubt about his own existence; after all, that was what he was doing to her and yeah, it bothered her.

He was acting as if whatever was going on between them was her doing, as if the kiss has been her fault even though they both knew he has been the one starting it. True, she played along and encouraged it to keep going, but he has been the one initiating it all and if he couldn't handle dealing with that, then that was his problem.

So, deciding not to say anything, she put the wine along with the other ones and started to make it towards the balcony. He never remained in the room with her once she would arrive so it was going to be a matter of nothing before she would be left alone again.

"Pack your things, we're leaving tonight." He said as if talking to her was the most natural thing in the world. He didn't look at her though. "We only have this bag so keep it simple."

Cussing under her breath because she actually thought she could remain without talking to him a while longer, Regina chewed on her lips compulsively before deciding what to say.

"What about your wound?" She asked because she didn't know how it was healing. As stated before, they hadn't been talking. He has been staying out all night long for the last two nights doing only God knew what and by day, when she was about to leave for whatever job Michelle would assign her, he would show up and head directly to bed.

So no, she didn't know about his healing process. She didn't know what he had planned, she didn't know what was on his mind and she just didn't know anything.

"It's fine." Getting into the bathroom and closing the door, he said.

Rolling her eyes at how he kept acting around her, Regina started opening her drawers. She didn't have much, just the dresses Eden so kindly provided and she didn't want to take any of those. They were not good for the road so what she looked for was for the clothes she has been wearing when she came in.

Since they were clean, she would rather wear those. They were comfortable and felt more like her.

Putting her things aside, she waited for Robin to get out of the bathroom. Once he was out, she took a few essentials and put them in the bag. That, along with some underwear and the few bottles of water and food she has been able to take out of the kitchen was all she had.

It was not enough to begin a journey into the unknown, and that worried her.

"We'll need guns or at least a couple of knives. Robin, we can't rush into this, we need to be prepared for whatever is out there."

His back was to her, but she saw how he lifted a hand in the air before letting it fall to his side. "I'll rather we take our chances out there. We know how to deal with walkers… but these people? I don't like them. You shouldn't either, considering they are all creeps."

"Can't argue about that." She hissed, remembering someone going to Blue telling her how he wanted her for what, a concubine?

"Long story short, we can't stay here playing church summer camp, so we are leaving tonight, that's final."

Groaning, she bit down the urge of telling him that he didn't have to be such a jerk and sat down on the bed. "Fine, I'll somehow get us some knives since you obviously don't care about that."

He turned around and sending her a sideway glance, he opened one of his own drawers. From there he took out all the clothes he has been provided and from underneath them, he took out three knives, and not just any ordinary ones, but hunting knives. There was also one small pistol.

"No need, I got us these already."

Arching an eyebrow and fighting against the need to ask him where the hell did he get all that, Regina grabbed one of the knives and inspected it. It was sharp... sure, so even though it was definitely not as good as hers, it would do.

"Okay, this is good, I guess." And really, it was all perfect because Eden was starting to give her major creeps and the sooner they would go, the better.

"We will have to swim our way around the breakwater so wear something light, no boots or heavy stuff. Everything we take along goes in the bag, everything. I'm gonna be out there when they change guards later on to throw it to the other side so put all your shit there. We'll be up all night so if you wanna shut your eyes you better do it now."

After the quick instructions, he waited for her to finish packing and then he went out. Probably to take care of the bag because he took it with him.

"Well here goes nothing." She mumbled with a shrug while realizing that it wasn't the first time they rushed into going away. That was exactly what they did when they left Storybrooke and look at the mess they ended up with.

Now off they went again; she just hoped things wouldn't take a turn for the worse again.

Refreshing a little, she got ready. It was just before sunset when Robin left so she tried to take a nap. It didn't work, and by the time he came back, she managed to get zero sleep. He did find her in bed though, and when he sat at the other side of the mattress and mumbled between clenched teeth that he got her something to eat, she was actually surprised.

They ate in silence, each absorbed into their own thoughts. It was uncomfortable, whatever was going on between them was like the elephant in the room. They both knew it was there, but they refused to acknowledge it.

And it was a damn huge elephant. It created a tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife, and even though at times she thought that the whole thing was ridiculous and that she should just forget about it, the truth was that she couldn't.

At first, it has been easy to push it to the back of her mind; the first kiss they had was on her and she blamed it on alcohol. The second, she let it go because it has been an asshole move on him to get rid of her, but the last one… that one has been on her mind since the moment it happened and as much as she would like to dismiss it as a fleeting thing of no importance, the truth was that she couldn't.

Robin was just someone you couldn't unseen once you really saw him and reality was that after what happened, she didn't know how to act around him.

She didn't even know if she wanted to act any certain way around him.

Sure, maybe if she would be in a different frame of mind, she would want to get rid of the tension the best way she knew how, by going full force after him and act upon the obvious unresolved attraction brewing between them. But no, as tempting as that could be, it was something she didn't want at the moment. First because she didn't need to complicate things and second, because Robin wasn't like any man she has ever known and that kind of intimidated her.

She wasn't even entirely sure if what was happening affected him somehow; she liked to think that it did because otherwise he wouldn't try so hard to ignore her. But at the same time, she has always known him for being elusive, so all he was doing could just be him being his regular self.

Who knew, the only thing she was sure of was that any other man wouldn't have wasted a minute to get into her pants and Robin... well, he most certainly wasn't trying. That disconcerted her because even if it was a little bit, she was sure he also felt the attraction.

He wouldn't have kissed her like he did if he didn't feel it. She knew because he wasn't the kind of person who went around kissing women just because he could.

That was the thing about him, he was not only different… he was an enigma wrapped in a riddle box and that not only confused her, but it also kept her on her toes.

It was that and then it was the fact that he had this strong aura around him that seemed to call to her whenever he was near, adding that along with his hard to read mind and the memory of his lips on hers and that was it for her. She didn't feel like she was in control around him and she didn't like it.

But that was something she would have to deal with, after all she was not a high school girl with a crush but a woman with a good head on her shoulders…. At least most of the time.

Clearing her throat and shaking all those thoughts out of her mind and focusing instead on what was important, Regina finished eating and decided to tell him what Blue told him. He allowed her to talk without interrupting her and once she said every detail of the conversation, he agreed they would have to play along in case they ran into someone on their way to the beach.

Lucky for them they didn't, which was a good thing because having to play the loving couple with him was stretching things too far.

Once they made it to the beach, Regina tilted her head towards the ocean and breathed into the salty scent of it. In the darkness of the night she couldn't see too far into the distance. The sea was a blank canvas extending into the horizon and for the first time since he told her about the plan, she started to become a bit anxious about the outcome.

Sure, the water looked tranquil and serene, but if there was something she knew, was that the sea was traitorous.

"So what now?"

Turning to her and settling his eyes on her face, he bit on his thumb. It was the first time he looked directly at her since the kiss. "Is the guard looking our way?"

Being subtle about it, she checked and yes, the guard was looking. "Yeah. Shouldn't he be looking at the other side? What's the point of-"

"Take off the dress."

Doing a double take, Regina snorted. "What?"

She hadn't been expecting to ever hear those words from this man's mouth and that he said it so bluntly took her aback. She was no prude, sure, but it did surprise her.

Twisting his lips and shifting his eyes away for a second, he took in a deep breath. "I've been watching these guards closely, and most of them will stop looking if they think people came here to make out. Some like to watch a little… but most just look the other way."

"Lovely." She sighed, lowering her eyes for a second before going back to look at him. "Really, just fucking lovely." But she did as he instructed, pulling the dress off and kicking her shoes away.

Once in her undies, she shrugged. "Just so you know, he is still looking."

Clenching his jaw, Robin went ahead and took off his shirt and despite herself, her eyes got caught up on the way the muscles of his stomach stretched as he did it; she watched without saying a word, her eyebrows even raising when he also took off his pants and kicked them away along his shoes.

He ended up standing before her in just his boxer briefs, and even though she has seen men wear a hell of a lot less than that, she had to admit that she was impressed with this one.

He looked good, there was no way of denying it. He was lean, his muscles were all in the right places and she especially appreciated his arms.

Unable to hold it, she hummed and the corners of her lips curved. "So do we start making out now?"

Her tone has been lighthearted, she was not serious but hey, she had to put it there just in case.

As a response, Robin puffed out a breath, turning a little as if to throw his shirt away, but she knew he was doing it to look at the guard. When he turned back to her, he motioned her to come closer and she did.

"Let's get in." Grabbing her hand, he guided her into the water, going deeper, and as the ocean water started to reach her thighs, she sucked in a breath a little too dramatically and tightened the hold. She even went ahead and intertwined her fingers with his.

"It's cold." Her voice came out strained but he said nothing.

Swallowing hard down, she trembled. She had goosebumps all over and she was definitely feeling overexposed. But he kept guiding her deeper, making her stomach clench as the cold water started to claim her all the way to her breast.

She didn't exactly like it, but since it had to be done, she was about to tell him that they should start getting closer to the breakwater. But before she could even open her mouth, he halted and used the hold he had on her hand to pull her to him.

She went to him easily, without thinking about it and before she knew it, she was in his arms.

It happened quick and yet so unrushed, as if in slow motion. First she was by his side and now she was against him. In this new scenario, he came to circle her with his arms and her chin ended up resting over one of his shoulders.

She said nothing to that and instead closed her eyes and sighed at the way his hands rubbed to her back and at how the closeness of his body provided a comfortable sense of warmness.

It was nice, and she was damn sure that if it wasn't because she was so cold, she would be thinking about taking advantage of the situation.

After all they were wearing next to nothing and they were extremely close. So close that both their breathing and the beating of their hearts were in synchrony.

"Have you heard of the term hypothermia? Because I'm damn sure I'll go down with it before we reach the other side."

"Don't be such a drama queen, it's not even that cold." Now yeah, he may have said that, but still he started to rub her a little harder and as a response, her body molded even closer to his.

Blowing out a shaky breath, she moved her hands from where they had been trapped between their bodies and put them around him. She felt him tense at that and suddenly wanting to see his face, she pushed back a little to look up to him.

In the water, they were almost at the same height so she ended up looking straight into his eyes. He was looking back at her with that glint on his blue orbs that confused her and despite the cold, she felt a liquid warm sensation rushing down to her groin.

She didn't know how or when but somehow one of his legs ended up right between her own two legs, and that along with his skin contacting hers and the way he was looking at her felt like a catastrophe approaching.

"Better?" He asked probably just to say something, she just nodded.

He was still rubbing his hands to her back and every time they went over the hooks of her bra, she wished for the damn thing to come undone just to see what he would do.

But that didn't happen. In fact nothing happened and they just remained there, sometimes looking at each other and sometimes looking away when the tension became too palpable.

She didn't even dare moving her hands down his shoulders to see if the rest of his skin was as smooth as it looked like her fingers were itching to do.

So they did that for a couple of minutes, probably enough to give the impression of making out, and when the guard finally turned his back to them to start doing what he was supposed to be doing, he cleared his throat and pulled away.

"Come on."

With the spell broken, she started swimming after him. As she did it, she occasionally took a look back to see if the guard was looking. He never glanced their way again and when they reached and then went around the breakwater, they had to swim within a safe distance not to be spotted. By the time they got to the other side, she was no longer cold, her muscles were protesting and she was out of breath.

He didn't give her too much time to gather herself though. They needed to rush and get the duffle bag, and the fastest they would do that the better.

That was how they began to move, like burglars using the darkness of the night as their ally. They did it that way because they needed to be careful with the task, last thing they needed was for the guard to see them or to run into walkers while unarmed and wearing just their underwear. Luckily they managed.

"I have sand all over." She commented as they finally reached the bag for Robin to grab.

She was panting, and as she said that, she looked down to confirm that she was indeed covered in sand. It stuck to her skin in a way that even when brushing it, it would not come off completely.

That little inconvenience was something she has forgotten about going to the beach, that and the sand flies that were now molesting her flesh and making her itch all over.

Grimacing at the discomfort and venturing to take a look at him, she noticed two things as she scratched along her arms. One was that he was also covered in sand and the other one was the way his underwear hung so very low on his hips.

It was fullfilling the duty of covering him, but truth be told, it didn't leave much to her imagination and that definitely got her attention. Especially since the wet fabric of his boxers was plastered against every inch of him. If it wasn't because it was dark, she would have a better look, but with what she had available, she did see a discrete outline of what was definitely his dick.

It made her think back to the night they kissed and how that same part of his anatomy has gotten hard for her back then...

"Okay." She sighed while looking away. He has been busy rummaging through the contents of the bag so he didn't catch her checking him out, but now that he got what he wanted, which were the knives, she would rather be looking somewhere else. "I need to get this off before I peel my skin off scratching." Forcing her mind out of the gutter, she said.

"It does itches like hell." He said absentmindedly, but not even once did he bother scratching. "I told you, this… hype about the beach is not all of what people say."

"Apparently." Using the palm of her hands to keep on trying to get the sand off, she noticed that there were more than a few red angry marks along her stomach and arms. Probably because of her nails abusing the spots in her attempts of alleviating the itch. "If we go far enough from the fence, we can get into the water to take this off. There's no way I'll dress with this all over."

Probably because he was also uncomfortable, he didn't protest her logic and together they found a spot far enough not to be seen but also that appeared to be safe.

This time she went into the sea without any preambles, getting down on her knees once the water reached to her high enough and using her hands to pour some of the cold liquid everywhere her skin was resenting the granular material known as sand. Her arms and chest, her stomach and neck and then her thighs. She even splashed some into her face because she was sure she got sand even in her mouth.

It felt better once she was able to take most of it off her skin and she actually sighed. As for Robin, he was right behind her doing the same thing she was doing so turning to him she blinked slowly. "I got it all over my face, don't I?"

Lifting his head, the Brithish man looked at her face and then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he used his thumb and dragged it against her skin, starting right under her earlobe and moving it to her jaw.

It seemed like something he didn't plan so she was going to assume he did it just to brush some sand off of her; there was really no other way to justify the touch.

"Thanks." She said almost in a whisper, wondering if they were forever going to ignore whatever it was happening between them.

At her words, his eyes went to hers and noticing that he had sand left on his chest, she poured water over him and helped him get it off. That has been her only intention, but somehow what she ended up doing was closing the distance that separated them until she was close enough to kiss him.

Now, if she would have been asked later on why she did that, she would have to say that she didn't know because it was the truth. She acted out of an impulse, and by the time her mind registered what was happening, her lips were already on his.

The kiss was nothing rushed and nothing intense, it actually progressed slowly. First they shared a few open mouthed kisses as his arm circled her waist to pull her closer and then, before she could put her own hands into use, his tongue was brushing against hers.

Realizing what she just started, Regina broke away and looked up at him; for a few seconds that was all she did, but when he cradled the back of her head and leaned down to kiss her again, she let him do it and even kissed him back.

In a matter of nothing, his tongue was in her mouth, dancing against hers as his hands moved down to her hips. It felt kind of surreal, so as if to make sure it was really happening, she pushed against him and slid her hands up his arms.

And yes it was real, the sensation in the pit of her stomach as his fingers ran against the edge of her panties couldn't be imagined. Actually, what he was making her feel was so real that she had to hum against his mouth in appreciation.

As a response, he kissed her deeper, lowering down until he ended up sitting and taking her down with him. She ended up straddling him, the water around her lapping against her skin as his hands settled against her ass.

Tilting her head to the left to change the angle of the kiss, Regina moved her hands to his chest, and when her hips grinded against his so that she could find the undeniable proof that he was enjoying the moment as much as she was, he actually pulled from the kiss and hissed.

"You couldn't just let it be, uh?" He said, his voice low and raspy, and when Regina believed that he had enough and that he was going to bail as he always did, he used both his hands to fully grab the flesh of her ass to pull her roughly against him.

The movement made his erection push hard against her sex and even though they were both wearing underwear, the contact send a shiver down her spine that made her arch against him and moan.

Capturing her lips back with his once again, he kissed her harder, his hands moving from where they had been to slide everywhere they could. He let his fingers move all over, up her spine and over her shoulders, they went into her hair and he even helped himself to her breast.

It was all happening too fast, she knew it, but even when half her brain was yelling at her to take a moment and think about everything that was going on, the other half was encouraging to keep things going.

It was this later half the one she was actually listening to, the one that made no protest when he grabbed for her panties and pulled them to the side, exposing her to him.

Sure, the disapproval of the most sensible part of her brain was still there, but the protests were so faint and irrelevant that she didn't even listen.

She could deal with regrets later on, she has become quite an expert when it came to that, but for now she just wanted to get drunk on sensation. She wanted him to take care of the ache between her legs and by the way things were going, she knew that would be no problem.

So, wanting to feel it all, she rotated her hips against him. With her privates exposed she could feel his hardness against her flesh, the fabric of his boxers feeling too rough as it brushed to her.

"Robin-" She began to say after breaking from the lip lock, it sounded more like a plea than anything else, but she didn't say anything more, she just opened her eyes and looked around.

They were a good three feet from the shore, and while there seemed to be no one around, she still checked. The cost was clear, and the small movement she believed to have caught from the bushes was probably the breeze.

Not that she had much time to keep checking, because as her eyes squinted a little to get a better look she felt it, the contact of skin against skin as he liberated his erection from his underwear so it could spring free against her sex.

Putting her attention back to him, she clung to his neck as he accommodated her in such a way that he could push into her with a single thrust, his engorged member making way inside of her until it was completely settled.

The invasion made her gasp into his ear and without exchanging a word they began to move against each other.

It felt amazing, how he was filling her up, how he searched for her mouth to kiss long and deep and how his hands on her felt like little bolts of electricity making her tremble all over.

Then, it was the way she was melting against him as he moved within her, how he burnt her groin in the most delicious way with every single thrust.

She came undone soon enough, her mouth open and breathing hard pressed to his but without kissing him. He held her through the high of her passion though, pressing a kiss to her mouth whenever she would moan a little too loud and refusing to stop fucking her.

"Oh my God." She hissed as he kept on.

Now, with the intensity of it all, it didn't take long for him to reach the brims of his own passion. She knew because he became erratic on his movements and because he let out a growl so low on his throat that it put all her senses on edge. By the time he came, pulling out and shooting up against her stomch, she was breathless and spent.

For several seconds that seemed to have dragged into an eternity, they remained like that, without speaking and without moving, waves crashing softly against them as they slowly started to come back to themselves.

By the time she was about to say something, anything to break the uncomfortable silence, she detected a noise coming from the bushes and all her senses picked up.

Robin heard it too because he pulled immediately away from her and after putting his now limp member back to his boxers, he got to his feet and rushed to get the knives they left forgotten on the sand. "You heard that?" He asked and she nodded, fixing her underwear and actually using the sea water to clean up the mess he left all over her.

Yes she heard it, but she couldn't see anything and deciding that it couldn't be walkers, she got one of the knives. What if it was people from Eden looking out for them?

"What is it?"

As if in cue, two figures walked out of the bushes. They were armed but didn't seem about to fight them. In the darkness she couldn't distinguish them, but when her eyes got used to the image she saw something that made her walk in front of Robin so she could push his gun down.

"Mulan?"

"I told you it was them." Came the voice of the woman and it took a moment to realize that the other person was Neal.

Standing a couple of feet away, the man used his hand to scratch his beard. "We got some visitors in Storybrooke that claimed you were here and we came to the rescue. Seems we were not needed at all."

"Everything good home?" Robin asked, his voice differing greatly from the one he used with her earlier on.

"Yeaaah… kind of." Neal said, dragging the word too long. "Why don't you two get… dressed so we can get the hell out of here? Then we'll talk."

Nodding and pretty much sure Neal and Mulan got an eyeful of what happened with Robin, Regina chewed on her lips and reached for the bag. Yes, she never thought she would say this, but she couldn't wait to get home.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Tapping his fingers impatiently against the worn out fabric of his pants, the man known as Robin Locksley watched through half closed eyelids as the couple sitting in front of him talked excitedly among themselves.

They had been at it for a while, scrutinizing every single word that has been said about the community he and Regina just escaped and trying to decide what to do with the information.

They were even throwing ideas about how knowing about the bizarre place could benefit them when it came to Storybrooke's eventual encounter with Gold's men, a group that was still menacing to disrupt the established peace they had worked so hard to achieve.

Now, in any other occasion, Robin would be giving his own take on the whole situation and he would have been the first one motivating Neal to take whatever action it was that he wanted to take; but that night, in that moment, the last thing on his mind was plotting or even taking a step forward for the sake of his own community.

No, in that moment, what his mind was swirling around was the same subject that had taken a hold of a great deal of his waking hours as of late, Regina.

To be more specific, what he was thinking right there was about what happened with the woman a couple of hours before… his brain trying to wrap itself around the fact that he let things get a hell of a lot too far…

It wasn't just kissing what they did, no… he let it escalate to a point of no return and they went full monty on it, and that was a big no, no… or at least it should feel that way… he wanted to feel it that way.

But truth be told, he still didn't know what to make of it, he didn't know what to think. He just knew that hooking up wasn't something he did and let alone with people of his own, so no… it shouldn't have happened.

It was a rule he had set upon himself since the very beginning of the outbreak, or at least since he stupidly allowed himself to fall into the easy rabbit's hole of trying to find comfort to all of what he lost in someone else's arms.

It didn't work back then, it actually made it all worse, as he and his recklessness ended up costing him someone he cared for again. It was for that reason that ever since, he has never failed to set his boundaries clear.

He didn't get too close to people that way; no... he might run in packs and do everything in his power to protect the group he ended up with, but when it came to creating emotional bonds that went too deep, he would always step back.

Everybody knew this, and it has never given him any kind of trouble, because even though he had a selected group to whom he considered to be somehow close to, he was more of a loner…

So yes, he had friends, people he considered to be his family even, but he hasn't taken a woman since surviving the trauma of losing all of what he did, and it has been his intention never to do it again.

And yet there he was. Not only did he break his own sanction, but he also couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was just that somehow, someway, the woman has crawled under his skin and no matter what he did or how much he tried to ignore it, she always managed to impair his judgment.

She didn't even have to do something specific to achieve it, she just had to look at him in that way she had of settling her warm brown eyes on him and that was it, he was a goner; and now, because he let her get to him, he ended up like that…

Feeling troubled.

Confused...

Now, looking back to it, he wasn't sure how it was that it all began, when it was that he started to let his guard down.

It sure as hell hadn't been when they made the stupid drunk decision of leaving Storybrooke and it hadn't been after that first chaste kiss she gave him.

No, back then he was just… her, one of the girls from the people he considered his pack. She was probably the one he had the least interactions with, but even though he didn't exactly know her on a very personal level, he still considered her family.

So yes, he had been aware of her, he was keen when it came to noticing things and the survivalist in him had paid attention to her abilities more than anything else. He knew that she could handle herself pretty decently in any situation and that was enough to think she was reliable; he also knew she was feisty, that she could pack an attitude and that even though she was level headed most of the time, she would also act out on her impulses whenever she became emotional.

And yeah, because he wasn't blind and she was quite a looker, the man in him also noticed her.

It hadn't been much more than an appreciative glance a time or two though, because as he took pride in, he wasn't the kind to be chasing girls when he had more important shit to do, like keeping himself and those around him alive.

She has been just someone who was there and to that day, it still eluded him how they ended up drinking themselves into a stupid stupor that lead them to be in the situation they were now.

Now, whatever it was that was happening, it didn't start before their journey and that first kiss hadn't done more than annoying him. Their thing, whatever it was, came up later, probably since they got into the coffin, because even though it hadn't hit him that hard then, it did prompt him to kiss her later on...

"So Robin." Neal began to say and lifting his head a little, he hummed.

Shifting where he sat, he also brought his thumb to his mouth and began to chew on it absentmindedly.

"What's the deal with Regina?"

Looking in the direction the woman disappeared into a couple of minutes before and glad that she wasn't there to hear Neal nosing into their business, he lifted a hand and made a gesture for the other man to stop.

"Neal." Mulan said in a warning tone while elbowing him.

"What, I'm just asking him a question, friend to friend."

"Just drop it, mate." Robin groaned because really, the last thing he wanted was to discuss something he didn't even understand.

He has never been a fan of talking about his shit anyway and he wasn't just going to start now.

Besides, what was there to say? That while they were in Eden he has needed to stay away because he knew he would screw things up, and that he ended fucking it up anyway?

Or maybe he could man up and admit that he didn't know what to make of all of it. He could probably mention how back at the beach he ended up saying a big fuck it and hoped that giving into her, even if it was once, would help him get her off his mind.

Because that has been what happened, the only problem was that it didn't work and now he couldn't stop thinking about how she easily gave herself to him with so much abandon; how he wanted more.

Nah, all that was something he was not going to say, it was cheesy as fuck and definitely not something he would admit out loud.

"Alright." Running a hand down his face, Neal snorted and shook his head. "Well whatever it is you have with her, just know that back in Storybrooke, there are a couple of the guys butting heads over her. Graham who wanted to come searching for her once we realized you two were missing, and Samdi, who didn't quite like Graham running his mouth saying he was with Regina."

At that information, Robin's attention picked up and he looked at Mulan as if to confirm what Neal just said.

"We can't take for granted what Graham says, we all know he is a stupid fool. And I don't know what to say about Samdi so I'll keep my mouth shut."

Chewing on his lips, Robin leaned back. Sure, he always suspected Regina wanted to get out of Storybrooke as a way to get away from the drama with Samdi and his new woman, and that was yet another one of the other reasons he wanted to keep away, because being a rebound guy was the last thing he wanted to be, but what he hadn't know was that there was another man in the mix.

He hadn't seen that one coming, and quite honestly, he didn't know what to think of it...

"Just watch it man, I don't think she is the kind of woman for you. She'll eat you alive before you know it."

"Wow, that is the most chauvinist thing I've heard you say, I can't believe you." Mulan hissed and actually punched the man in the arm.

Neal laughed it off, but when all of a sudden Regina walked in, carrying a couple gallons of water and a pissed off expression on her face, he became serious all of a sudden.

No one said anything though, and Robin watched as she dropped the gallons right before Neal before rolling her eyes and turning around to leave the same way she came in.

"See what you did?" Mulan hissed. "You better apologize Neal Cassidy, or I swear…"

"Yeah, I know, I know." The man said, scratching behind his ear and closing his eyes. He did look regretful, but because Robin wanted to make things clear, he leaned forward and spoke.

"Tell you what, I don't get in your shit, never had and never will, so don't get in mine." With that said he got up and left as well.

He didn't go after her though, they hadn't actually exchanged a word since Neal and Mulan found them at the beach and he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to her while his brain was a mess.

That was why he roamed the building they had taken refuge in, as a way to evade her, but he also did it to double check that it was clear of walkers and to search it out in case there was something worth taking back into Storybrooke.

Keeping himself occupied was the best cure for a wandering mind, that was how he managed in Eden, by figuring out how to get the hell out. He would stay up all night long studying the possible ways of escaping and once he built the plan and got a few knives, he grabbed his shit, got Regina and went through with it.

Doing that helped him escape, but it did shit about Regina... in fact, he was pretty sure now that it made it worse.

Now he didn't know how to approach or if he even wanted to because well… it has been a long while since he had to deal with a woman this way and he wasn't sure if he still had it in him.

Once he did, he would even be considered a charmer, but that was before, in his past life and this was now, and in this now that he lived in, there was no room for women, romance and let alone love.

It was how he wanted it, how he has lived for a long time after those initial months after he lost his pregnant wife and later on, the woman he tried to find comfort with; because as it turned out, the only feelings that he got to feel after that happened besides biting back down at the anger and self loathing that consumed him, was that nagging sensation of knowing that he was worth shit and no, people like him had no right of finding someone.

Hell, sometimes, when things were really bad, he would also think he didn't even have the right to live, not when so many had died.

That didn't happen often now, he didn't let those self destructive thoughts consume him too often, but for a long time, that has been life for him and well, old habits were hard to kick.

Sure, it was better now as time allowed him to little by little crawl out of the darkness that has been consuming his mind, but the feelings were still there, hidden deep inside and waiting to resurface.

At times, he wouldn't even notice he was going back to it, but that frame of mind was what would motivate him into throwing himself head first into the most dangerous shit ever, and after, as he lay in the after match of his actions, he often thought if he did what he did because part of him wanted to get caught up in a bad situation and having it all end...

Sure, like he said, he didn't do that too often now, not since he found his pack, because it was with Neal, David, Mulan and the rest of their group that he started to find his place in this new fucked up world, when he started to feel a little better about himself.

Sure, he still had issues, as did everybody, but he was better than before.

But then came Regina, reaching places in him no one has reached in such a long time, making him crave things he thought he didn't need and some of the old feelings started to resurface. He wanted her, he wasn't even going to deny it, but going back to his old mindset, he didn't think he deserved to feel that way, he didn't feel like it was fair he could get to feel anything, so until he could figure out what was going on with him, he needed to keep a distance.

But because destiny always had a way of fucking with him, he ended up running into her. He walked through a hallway that was supposed to take him to the other side of the structure and there she was, sitting over a chest freezer and looking out through a huge window panel that overlooked the back of the building itself.

It was full of walkers, but because they were on a third floor and the dead on ground level, he didn't even pay them attention.

As for Regina, he knew she saw him walk in, so turning around to head out wasn't an option. That was why sucking it up, he walked to her and sat by her side.

The freezer wasn't too big so they ended up sitting way too close, their arms and hips pressing; it was as they were like that that he noticed the pout on her lips.

It was an angry one no different than the one she always had on her face, because if there was something about Regina, it was that she always looked pissed.

Or at least it has been like that ever since Samdi gave her the boot.

"Is it true, about Graham?" Yes, he was going directly for it, even when he shouldn't feel the right to ask.

And yet, he did… he had to know.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw as she turned her face to him and set her own eyes on him.

"If you want to know if I slept with him then yes. Anything else you need to know?"

And yes, she was pissed. He almost had her all figured out by them and he knew her petulant tone to be the one she used when she was mad.

What he didn't know was why she was angry when she has been the one playing her games on him. Because yes, in a random conversation they had, she mentioned Graham has been a mistake and sure, he assumed they slept together, but she failed to mention that she was still dating him; or what was worse, that it was as he had suspected since the beginning and that she played her game just to get back at Samdi, or probably as a way to get over him.

Apparently it worked, because according to Neal, Samdi was already mad about his ex 'moving on' and who knew what would happen with those two once they got back home; or for that matter, what would happen with Graham.

"So you two are together then?" He asked, for some reason, wanting a drink very bad in that moment.

Regina snorted and bit her lips. "No. What happened with him was a mistake. I wasn't in a good place mentally and you know, shit happens."

"Same as with me?" Nodding, he looked at her when he asked that, because for some reason, he wanted to see how she reacted.

Blinking slowly, Regina chewed on her lips once again. It was a habit that she had and probably wasn't even aware of. He knew because he has seen her do it way too many times now and as of late, it only made him want to kiss her. "It's not the same."

"Why not?"

Now yes, asking too much wasn't the way to go because she wasn't something he should want to pursue; but at the same time, he wanted to know. Whatever it was that she could say, he wanted to know.

How bad it could be anyway? She could say she only wanted sex and he would get it. She had an itch so she scratched it, no big deal. He had wanted it too and back at the beach, he even thought fucking her would end the tension once and for all.

It didn't, but that was a subject he didn't want to discuss...

At the question, the brunette blew out a breath and went back at looking out through the window. It was already close to dawn and she looked tired.

"Have you ever been in a place where you think you are not good enough, when someone makes you feel like that?"

He said nothing, and luckily, she didn't wait for him to reply.

"Samdi and I were never meant to last, I mean we are definitely not made for each other, but it stung you know, I guess my pride was wounded and I was feeling like that, like I wasn't worth it. So I don't know, I guess I just needed some kind of validation that there could be someone that wanted me like he didn't and… Graham was there. I don't know what else to say. It was stupid, probably me wanting to lift my ego or something… but it was a one time thing."

Nodding, Robin pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "And why is that different from your thing with me?"

"I don't know, it just is. With you it doesn't feel like it is stupid and I sure as hell don't regret it. It was good." She shrugged and then she snorted, pushing her hair out of her face.

Robin said nothing, he just watched her, taking notice that after their little adventure at the beach, her usually smooth locks were all wavy and untamed. That along with the subtle sunburn she acquired from their days in Eden gave her a carefree look that he liked more than what he should.

"Look, I know what you think and maybe you and Neal are right; I'm not good enough and I'm a fucking mess and all you want to think of me; but I was not playing with both you and Graham. I get why you think I was and I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me again after this, but I just need you to know that it wasn't like that."

His eyes were set on hers and when she faced him, he ended up digging deep into her chocolate colored orbs. "I don't think you are not good enough." In fact, that she would say that took him aback.

"Oh come on, you are the Robin Locksley. Everyone worships the ground you walk on while I'm just… Samdi's bitter ex. Now after Graham running his mouth all over, they'll think I'm a slut too."

"I don't think you are a slut." If he did, he wouldn't have ended up having sex with her at the beach, let alone without wrapping it up.

True, he also went bareback because he had nothing on him at the moment; like it wasn't like he carried condoms with him while killing walkers. Besides, once he heard Samdi bragging about how he would always double up on protection when he was with Regina so she wouldn't end up pregnant, and even though he always believed the man to be giving up information others didn't need to know, it was something that rushed back to him back at the beach.

It didn't even cross his mind to ask if she was clean, as it was actually something that wasn't bothering him at the moment; it was the fucking end of the world after all.

So yeah, Regina was definitely no saint nor perfect but who was?

"Well… thanks, I guess." She rolled her eyes and he didn't know if her come back was sarcastic or not.

"What happened at the beach, you did it to get back to Samdi?"

"No. I'm over him."

"Then why?'

She shrugged. "I don't know. It wanted it to happen. I wanted you. I think it was something that was building for a while and you know, it had to happen. Wasn't it something you wanted?"

He considered for a while what he was going to say and decided to keep it simple and honest. "You know I did."

Her hand reached for his and he let her take hold of it, their fingers lacing together. They didn't say anything for a while and even though the silence was more than obvious, it didn't feel awkward.

But still, there were things he needed to put out there. "I think I told you that I don't do relationships, yeah? And that I don't like shitting where I eat either; but there's more, I hate drama and you, you are way too dramatic." He got that with the hissy fit she threw on him early on their journey.

"I know, and I told you I was done with men and hooking up with assholes and you… you are quite an asshole." She squeezed his hand slightly, as if to let him know she wasn't all the way serious. "But you know…"

"Shit happens." He ended her sentence.

"Yes. So are we cool?"

Lowering his glance to her lips before returning them to her eyes, he shrugged. "Sure."

Now… he couldn't tell why but he would always end up looking at her inviting mouth and apparently, after all the kissing they did at the beach, he still found them appealing.

"Okay." She bit on her lips and smiled. It was the first actual smile she flashed his way and he had to eye her down in distrust.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm tired." With her free hand, she ran a hand down her face and sighed. "And I do stupid things when I'm tired… so you better go now."

Letting go of her hand and sliding off the freezer, he made as if to walk away, but before he could take one step forward, she called out for him.

"Robin."

"Hmm."

"Don't be a stranger okay."

He sucked his lips into his mouth and nodded, then as if moved by a mysterious force that greatly differed from his resolution of staying away, he leaned into her and kissed her.

Apparently, he was also one to keep doing stupid things as well.

He didn't know why he did that, why he kept doing that; but when her hands buried themselves into his hair to keep him in place, he deepened the kiss and even grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to him so she would slide closer.

He ended up comfortably right between her legs and moving his hands to her hips, he settled them there.

They kiss didn't last as long as the ones at the beach, but as his tongue searched for hers, he couldn't help but to think that maybe this wasn't so bad… which was of course, his cue to put a stop to it.

Pulling away, he took a step back and watching as she bit on her lips after his kiss, he did the same. "Go get some rest, in a couple of hours we'll be heading back home."

"Okay." She jumped to her feet and while she walked away, she sent him another smile. He nodded, his lips curving but not quite smiling himself. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." He said, but she was gone before he could say something more.

And yes, he guessed they were going to be seeing each other later on. After all they were going to be heading together to the same place. Now it was to be seen what was going to happen in Storybrooke, and what were they going to find out there…

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

She was tired… so... so tired, that she could feel her eyes burning in their sockets, the two chocolate brown orbs silently protesting the lack of sleep they were unjustly enduring

It was an annoying thing; not only that nagging feeling of running so low in fumes that her eyes were suddenly too heavy for her to keep fully open, but also how her neck felt too frail to hold her head without it tipping a little to the side every now and then...

That was how bad she was having it, how hard she was struggling to keep high and alert, so as a way to keep herself awake and prevent her eyes from stupidly closing off, she did the only thing she could do at the moment, she rubbed them hard with the back of her hand.

What else was there to do? She didn't want to fall asleep, at least not right away. First because they were less than half an hour away from finally arriving to Storybrooke and second, because what Neal was saying interested her very much and she wanted to listen.

Besides, she already got a couple of catnaps during their journey back home. A few minutes here and there where she dozed off while sitting in the backseat of the car Neal was driving, and for now, that was enough for her to be okay. True, it was not enough for her system to operate at full capacity, but she would have to manage.

She would sleep once she was on her own bed, but for now, what she needed was to focus.

She managed, because even though at times she would space out to then snap back awake after a couple of seconds of completely zoning out, she was following the conversation well enough.

From what she got, while she and Robin were away, Philip had to rush towards Hyperion Heights after Aurora started feeling ill. He took her away in a rush due her advanced pregnancy and as of yet, they hadn't come back. It wouldn't be a surprise if they came back with the baby, at least that's what Mulan bitterly said. There was also Zelena, who disappeared in the middle of the night, August who took off to look for her and as recently as the previous day, Killian and Emma who showed up with news about them being at Eden.

Those two also claimed they were willing to help Storybrooke take over Gold's men, and that was what they were talking about at that moment.

"This is what we are going to do until we figure it all out. We'll talk to David so that we all put Storybrooke on lock-down, that means nobody goes out. That includes you two so no more monkey business, okay?"

Regina didn't reply to that and when she looked at Robin, she saw that he was just looking out the car's window while leaning against it.

He wasn't saying anything either. Actually, the last time she remembered him speaking was to say he didn't think Killian was trustworthy and then, he and Neal engaged in a little back and forth that she couldn't follow for the life of her.

It was actually ridiculous how she hadn't been able to focus, and despite the situation and the way the argument escalated a little, she couldn't help but to think that Daniel has been alright after all, and that to some people, being sleep deprived was the same as being drunk.

It took her years to believe it… years after he told her that and years after he died...

"We will need however, someone to go to Hyperion Heights to check on Aurora and to tell her and her guy to stay there for now. We need her and the baby safe, right Mulan?" The one talking was Neal, but at his words, the woman just snorted bitterly.

"I'll go."

That has been Robin, and upon listening to that marked-up accent of his, her eyebrows arched and she even straightened her posture so she could have a better look at him.

She couldn't get much, because even when they were sharing the backseat of the car, he was still looking out the window and his face wasn't visible from her vantage point.

Now, she wasn't clear where they were standing when it came to each other because damn the man to hell, but Robin was actually very hard to read. He was a puzzle… he constantly pushed and pulled in a way that would leave her more confused than ever so no, she was still a bit on edge when it came to whatever it was that they had going. But, after what happened at the beach and then their talk after it, she thought they were finally heading the right direction.

Sure, the conversation has been kind of cryptic, they didn't agree on anything and she sure as hell didn't expect out of it a happily ever after where they were going to walk hand in hand towards the rainbow smiling and happy.

No, that wasn't what she believed was going to happen and it wasn't what she wanted either. She wasn't an idealist or a dreamer, and she was well aware that reality was harder than that, but she has been expecting at least that he would stick around a little while and that maybe, they could tip-toe around this new thing growing between them.

Apparently, that wasn't at all what he wanted because the first chance he got, he tried to put as much distance as he could between them.

Sure, yeah… that he volunteered didn't necessarily mean that he was doing it because of her and it would be pretentious to even suggest it, but somehow, someway, she believed he was doing it as a way to evade her.

"No, we need you in Storybrooke. Especially if we are going to work with Killian."

"I told you I'm not going to work with him."

Before they could once again start with the same argument, Regina rolled her eyes and leaning forward, she interrupted them.

"I will go to Hyperion Heights. I can move fast when I'm on my own so I'll just need you guys to point me the way. I don't even need a car, so I won't draw attention either."

This time it was Robin the one who looked at her, she could see him out of the corner of her eyes. Still, she kept her own head facing forward, away from his.

Now, she offered, but no, it wasn't because of him; she would have done it on any other occasion because that was what she did. She hated the simplicity of life in Storybrooke and any occasion to be out was a golden opportunity to take a breather.

In other words, she wasn't about to let what happened between them interfere with who she was.

And yeah, who knew, maybe he offered for the same reason. After all, Robin has always been the kind to offer doing all kinds of things too. From runs, to whatever crazy mission the group would need… and yeah, how to forget how he basically put his neck on the line so that she could go and warn the others about Gold and his men?

He was much of a runner as she was… so there was that.

"Nah, we need you home too. We need everyone capable of defending Storybrooke to stay inside the gates."

Sighing and letting herself fall back against the seat, Regina crossed her arms to her chest and finally looked at the man sitting by her side.

His eyes were still fixed on her, the blue so intense she thought she was going to melt right on the stop. She didn't, obviously, and just limited herself to arch an eyebrow. "Seems like we're on time out."

At her words, Robin snorted. "Yeah."

For a second that for some reason dragged into an eternity, his features softened and unable to stop herself, she smiled, the edge of her teeth sinking slowly into her bottom lip. But then, going back to herself, she rolled her eyes and tore her gaze away from him.

Yes, she liked Robin and maybe even wanted him, but she shouldn't be pushing for anything between them because as she stated, she didn't want to get involved with anyone... as tempting as exploring things with him may seem.

What she should do was keep to her lane, so thinking that was the best thing to do, she closed her eyes and blocked everyone out.

At least for a few minutes, because quick after that, they were finally home, and as soon as she got there, she realized that despite how crazy things felt at the moment, she wanted nothing more than sliding into her bed to shut her eyes.

It was long due, sleeping soundly; maybe once she did, she would wake up refreshed and with her mind clear about Robin, about her short stay at Eden and yes, about this new thing with Gold…

And if that didn't do it for her, then she needed to at least have a talk with Mal, a good long talk where her friend could help her focus. She would put her in her place, as she would repeat until she got it engraved into her brain that she didn't need a man or to complicate her existence even more…

Didn't she learn with Samdi, or even with Graham?

Cringing at the thought of those two and climbing out of the car once Neal parked, she made it to the gate, her mind already decided on what to do.

No Robin… he would go his way, and she would go hes. Simple as that… it didn't have to be bitter or dramatic… it just needed to stop.

Yes. Most definitely.

Once it was all settled in her mind, Regina sighed. It was still early, way before noon, and because the sun was shining hard on her eyes, she didn't look up to see who was on guard duty. Some asshole, probably… who cared? She knew she didn't, same way she didn't even pay attention to the one who opened the gate.

She didn't care, she didn't look, and instead she turned to Robin.

Yeah… so much for keeping to her lane and going her way, she thought.

"Hey." She said once he was about to walk past her. He stopped and twisted his lips, listening. Now, she wanted to say something, anything to make sure they were cool, actually, but because they had an audience, she just limited herself to what was safe. "I'll have to take the stitches in a few days."

"Alright." He said and just when she was sure he was going to tell her something more, Neal called him. For a second he hesitated, but then he just nodded at her and left.

Sighing, she watched as he walked away.

"He's going to take him to Killian. You think he'll take it good?"

Listening to the words, Regina snorted and eyed Mulan.

Now, the woman has been keeping to herself for most of their trip and other than making Neal apologize for the comment he threw about her earlier on, she has been maintaining herself on the side, so that she was now talking to her, picked her curiosity.

"He's going to be pissed. It wouldn't surprise me if they ended up fighting."

"He's helping you know, Killian; he says he has intel on Gold that could help us take him and his men down. He also told us how to get to you… so that has to count for something, don't you think?"

Shrugging, Regina lifted her hand and then dropped it to her side. "He stabbed Robin. He could have bled out and die out there, you know? Besides, if we ended up in Eden, it was because he made it happen, so don't even try to make me go soft on him. As for telling you where we were?" She shrugged once again. "That was for nothing, because it was Robin and I the ones that got ourselves out."

For a couple of seconds Mulan just stared at her through half closed eyelids. Regina stared back.

"You and Robin have gotten real close."

It wasn't a question but a statement, Regina got it and as a response, she just blinked a couple of times because really, what could she say to that when she wasn't even sure what was happening with them?

They had sex, yes… but where they close?

She didn't know, not when it came to Robin, but not wanting to come off as too rude, she kept it simple. "I wouldn't say real close, just normal."

The other woman nodded. "I've known that big asshole for a while now and he is either close to you or he isn't. I even spent a couple of weeks with him on the road as well so trust me, I know Robin Locksley and I can say without a doubt that I've never seen him act as he is acting with you… so I'll say this whatever it is that you have, is more than just normal."

Now, even though Regina was sure that Mulan along with Neal had seen her and Robin at the beach, she decided to just play dumb.

"I don't see that he is acting any particular way towards me." And he really wasn't, at least not in public. He has barely spoken to her in front of Neal and Mulan so what she was saying made no sense.

"To start, he went off with you out of the blue and with no particular reason. Robin doesn't do that."

Not knowing where Mulan wanted to get, Regina scratched the back of her neck and breathed in. "Well... we were both drunk and clearly thinking out of our buts."

Smiling knowingly as if Regina just proved a point, Mulan tapped her lips with the tip of her index finger.

"Look, what the two of you do or do not do is not my business, but because I appreciate that asshole so much I'll tell you this; if, and only if there is something there you really want to pursue with him, be patient."

Regina twisted her lips and crossed her arms to her chest. She was listening.

"He's not like the other guys and even if you see him all rough around the edges and with that chip upon his shoulder attitude, deep inside he's a softy. When he cares he cares with everything that he has so right off the bat, I'll tell you he's one of the good ones and trust me, he deserves the world. The only problem he has is that he doesn't think he deserves it and I think that's why he carries that pissed off attitude around. He's gone through a lot… that's why he'll probably want to push you away and for that same reason, you need to be patient."

She took a moment before going on.

"So the same way I told you all that, I'll tell you this; If you don't mean to make something good out of him then just leave him alone. Don't talk to him, don't go to him and don't make him believe something that's not real. I mean it Regina, so think on what you really want to do before doing it."

With that said, Mulan was gone, leaving Regina standing there, a little confused because she wasn't sure if she has been threatened or not.

She was probably going to need some sleep before she could wrap her mind about what just happened, so she headed into the small house she shared with Mal, August and Jefferson and went straight into her room.

Once there, she fell asleep as she was and when she woke up after several hours, it was late in the afternoon. The sun was even starting to hide in the horizon and as she tried to make herself more presentable by taking a shower and washing her hair, night already fell upon Storybrooke.

By then her mind was focused and even though a little groggy, she was clear about what she wanted to do. She didn't need a talk with Mal… God, and she hoped she didn't run into her by any chances, because what she was going to do would probably earn her one hell of a lecture.

But that would be later, right now, she was decided.

That was how she made it out of her house and walked into the chilly night, determined, and because she didn't want to be noticed by running into people she would rather avoid, she did it quickly.

She didn't really pay much attention to her surroundings as she walked, so she didn't see the man lurking in the shadows watching her every step, and she definitely didn't notice the dark look he sent her way as she crossed the porch into a much bigger house that the one she lived in and made it inside.

Now, as she did that, Regina didn't even knock. Why would she? In this new world they were living in now, those things were not really necessary, especially in their group, so that she walked in unannounced didn't even feel odd.

It wasn't the first time anyway.

What was really new, was walking upstairs and straight towards the bedrooms, because yes, she has been in that house a few times before, mainly when David felt he needed to discuss something important without the whole group knowing, but she has never felt the need to pay any of the residents there such a personal visit before.

The only problem with that now, was that she didn't know which one was his room. Hell, she didn't even know if he was there either.

Fortunately, as she walked down the corridor, she focused on the only door that was half open and when she walked close by and peered inside, she saw him there alright.

He was in bed but he wasn't sleeping, and as if sensing her presence, he put the book he has been reading down and frowned.

"Hey."

At the sound of her voice, Robin lifted his head her way and blinked, not saying anything, and biting hard on the inside of her cheek, Regina remained where she was, under the doorframe, feeling her stomach tingling all over.

To be completely honest, he was making her feel a bit unnerved by looking at her like he was, which was not a thing she usually felt when it came to men; but what could she say? Tthere was just something about this one that made her feel so fucking out of place.

"Heard you were going to see Killian and I wanted to see how that went." She said at last, lifting her chin and keeping her voice casual.

Shrugging, Robin kept the full intensity of his eyes fixed on hers. "I'm still in one piece so…"

"So I see, but how about him?" Not that she really cared, but at least it was something to talk about.

"The bloody asshole got less than what he deserved, but just because Neal and David wanted me to play nice." He scoffed and with his head, he motioned her to look over a small dresser where his crossbow was. "Got that back. My bike too."

"Good." Biting her lips and then sucking them into her mouth, she dared to walk inside, her spine straight but her senses on alert. That way, she touched the weapon, sliding a finger over it before keeping her march towards his bed.

She sat on the corner of the mattress, keeping a safe distance while at the same time, close enough to reach him if she wanted to.

"So what do you think will happen now, you know, with Gold and all that?"

"I don't know."

She nodded, and it came into her mind how they were going around each other as if they were walking on thin ice. It was kind of silly, they were both adults and she was pretty much sure they wanted the same thing, so why beat around the bushes?

"Why are you here?" He finally asked, his hand going to his chin so that his fingers could smooth his facial hair.

Blowing out a breath, Regina lowered her eyes for a second, thinking that she could tell him so many answers to that question; she could say she wanted to check on him, that she wanted to talk strategies, or simply that ever since she woke up, she has been feeling the indistinct need to see him... but none of those answers, would make justice to what she really wanted.

But how could she say that without coming off as stupid as she felt for it?

So no, she couldn't just say it, that was why after lifting her eyes back to his, she leaned forward and kissed him.

Now, the kiss was nothing more than her lips pressing to his; it was soft and maybe even sweet, and it wasn't until his hand moved to the nape of her neck and her head angled the right way, that it deepened.

It went like that for a short while, her own hand reaching for him and bringing him closer. But before they could go further than that, his door busted open and they both jumped in surprise, the kiss ending abruptly.

"Hey Robin, look wh- oh I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Regina didn't have to look to recognize the boy's voice to be Henry's, and at the notion of being caught by the only teenager in the whole town, she just pressed her hand to her lips and closed her eyes.

Next she heard was the door being thrown closed and the loud steps of Henry probably running down the corridor.

For some reason, that made her laugh and she used the same hand she had pressed to her mouth to suppress the sound.

"That wasn't funny."

"I know, I'm sorry." She drew in a deep breath and opening her eyes, she lowered her hand to her neck. "It was a bit awkward though."

Robin was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment that made her smile, and unable to help it, she grabbed for the collar of his shirt to pull him back to her.

"Come here." She said and even though she didn't really think he was going to, he did, he leaned into her and went back at kissing her.

Lifting a little so that she could be even more close, she wrapped her arms around his neck. That way, her tongue sought for his and he complied, making them brush into her mouth as his arm wrapped around her too.

The kiss was slow, he pushed past her lips and explored thoroughly, making her head spin with sensation, and as it went on and she kissed him back, he reached for the edge of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

That was the first piece of clothing that went off but it wasn't the last, and almost without breaking away, everything else was taken off and tossed aside.

They did not talk through it, Regina because her head was spinning and Robin probably because he was concentrated; but they did touch and fooled around and when she finally found herself laying on her back while he accommodated the weight of his body against hers, she moaned in appreciation.

Robin... she wanted to say his name but his lips were demanding, they were not giving her a chance to do anything that was not kissing him back and she obliged.

She wouldn't know how to explain it, but just with the way he was kissing her, he was provoking a sea of sensations to run all through her body. The feeling of him, hard and closely pressed against her was almost too much to bear and she knew she was going to be a goner early in the game.

Yeah, this wasn't the first time they had sex, but there was a certain novelty over the whole thing because in the position they were now, she could feel all of him; she could also see him and yes, because his skin pressing to everything that was her made her feel all hot and bothered.

Wanting to touch him, she slid her hands down the skin of his back, but before she could get a good feel of him, he grabbed for her hands and pinned them above her head.

For a moment, the kiss was broken and he just stared into her eyes, delving deep and making the moment feel almost obscene.

And it was, at least in that delicious intimate way sex would bring. After all he was hard, very much naked and pressed closely against her as she circled his hips with her legs.

She was also wet and swollen for him so biting her lips, she pushed against him, making his erection press against her. "I want you… so bad." She whispered, wanting to touch him but unable to because he was still holding her hands.

"You do?" He whispered back and after his words were out, he was once again kissing her, harder this time, more demanding.

They kissed like that for a long time, bodies rubbing against one another until he finally pushed inside of her to claim her once again as his.

It felt amazing, the way his body rocked against her and into her as he swallowed her moans with his kiss. It was also intense, especially because her hands restricted above her head made her feel desperate; desperate for more, desperate to touch him and to tell him how good he felt inside of her; but as he moved within her all she could do was kiss him back and push against him, wanting to take all of him.

As what to be expected, it didn't take long for her body to succumb to him and as his thrusts kept going strong, her release washed over her, making her trash underneath him.

As she rode the delicious wave, she felt him tremble against her and she assumed he was close as well. With that in mind she tightened her legs around him and pushed him deeper until he broke from the kiss and with his eyes fixed onto hers, he pressed his forehead against hers.

It was too intimate… too intense, his eyes, the warmness of his kin, his hard breath on her face and yes, she should be telling him to pull out before it was too late, but she couldn't… she didn't want to give up on the feeling he was provoking in her.

"Oh, that's so good… Robin, so good."

With a low growl stuck down his throat, she felt him, his body tensing inside of her as he flooded her with his essence… she felt all of him at once, her eyes fixed on him. His lips parted and his breathing ragged made her want to hold him but because she couldn't, she just watched him… and yes, by all rights she should be pushing him away while getting beyond angry with the fact that he came inside of her, but in that moment, it felt all too good for her to complain.

Once the momentum dwindled down, he let go of her hands and this time they went to the back of his head. Her fingers ran through his hair and her head pushed forward to give a slight bite to his lower lip, pulling it into her mouth so that her tongue could run over it.

"Robin..." She began to say, but before she could finish, he pressed her lips against hers.

"Don't say anything."

She didn't, and when he pulled out and made as if to go away, she grabbed him back to her and made him lay on her side, as she wasn't going to let him pull away from her completely, not at all.

She knew that was his plan, and even though she knew not to push, she also wanted to cling to the moment.

"I won't, but just if you kiss me."

As he was destined to do, Robin immediately kissed her. He even sighed when she wrapped her arms around his neck and angled her head so that he could deepen the kiss.

It was a good kiss, one that had their breaths mingling, tongues melting against one another as one her hands moved to his back. He did his part too, biting lightly on her bottom lip and she moaned softly.

It was in that moment that she knew that this was not going to be their last time… not if she had a say in the whole thing. And judging by the way he was kissing her back, she also knew that he wanted the same thing.

Yes, it was also something she didn't want to rush, so knowing what needed to happen, she ended the kiss and pressed her nose to his.

"I'm going to go, but just because I don't want Mulan to see me walking out of here. It will be weird. But I want to see you again, so tomorrow?" She whispered against his lips. "My place?"

Licking his lips and watching her intently, Robin nodded, making her feel all victorious over his agreement. "Alright."

Sure, it wasn't much… but it was way more that what she has been expecting…

Little did she know that next time they would get to at least talk to each other, it was going to be in the middle of a chaos, because before the sun would go down the next day, all hell was going to break loose... and Storybrooke as they knew it, was going to be no more.


	9. Chapter 9

_'There has always been a little bit of sadness inside my happiness. I've never been able to separate the two.'_

Going over those words over and over again inside her head as her finger ran lazy circles against the glass that sat empty over the big picnic table in front of her, Regina Mills stared into the distance as everything and everyone moved around her.

She sat there as if in a trance, her mind miles away as the warm rays of light of a beautiful afternoon shone over her.

Now, she couldn't remember where she read those words, but in that particular moment, they just popped into her mind and in her drunken stupor, she found them to be almost poetic. It was weird because she wasn't one to enjoy embellished phrases, but somehow, someway, she just couldn't get this one out of her head.

Maybe it was the alcohol putting things in her mind, but it felt as if the words were written exclusively for her and if it wasn't because she wasn't alone, she would have ventured to say them out loud just to listen to the way they rolled out of her tongue...

"Hey Regina, are you still here with us? It's your turn."

Humming and shaking out of her reverie, the brunette woman tilted her chin up, her eyes finding the grinning face of her friend, housemate and sure, when she was feeling adventurous and wanted to play against the silly rules set in Storybrooke, her partner in crime, Mal.

"Yeah... still here." Blowing out a breath, she moved her eyes to check the set of cards in her hand and then the ones in the table; but for the life of her she couldn't focus on the game. It was as if the cards were there just to mock her with their stupid simplicity and without thinking it twice, she let them fall over the table, face up. "You know what, screw this. I can't even think."

Instead of gloating over the fact that Regina giving up meant that she won, Mal just placed her own cards down and sighing in a way that sounded way too overdramatically, she spoke again.

"Guys, I've never said this before, but I really, realy love you."

Looking sideways at the man sitting right beside her, Regina tried not to react to those words, but when the man returned her look and then started laughing, she couldn't help it.

Initially, she tried to hold it, but before she could help it, her cheeks gave the sightless tremble and she had to bite into them as a way to stop it. For the good it did she shouldn't have even done it because the burst came out forcibly, and once it was at the back of her throat she could barely conceal it.

In a matter of nothing, she choked on it and it escaped, making her laugh out loud along Jefferson.

"What's so funny, you assholes?"

"You are drunk talking to us." Jefferson said once his laughter subsided.

Shrugging and reaching for her own glass, Mal drank the rest of the golden liquid still on it. She drank slowly, savoring as Regina taught her earlier on and not slugging it down at a speed.

That was how tequila was meant to be done, at least the good kind and what they had in that table was some of the best there could be found. "Well it's true. And even if we are missing August, I'm glad that at least we are here together on this special day. Cheers."

"I'll drink to that."

Watching her two friends and then all around her, Regina smiled faintly because yes, it was really a special day. After all, Aurora's baby was just born and at the news, Storybrooke seemed to be in a feisty mood.

Despite Gold and his men… despite the walkers outside and the two prisoners by the stables, nobody seemed to care, or to know for that matter, as all they wanted at the moment was to celebrate the beginning of a new life in a world that was plagued with so much death.

It was the first baby in their group so yes, even to Regina, the air felt vibrant with so much good vibes. It was an atmosphere like she hadn't felt before the world ended, and as she scanned around, she even heard someone singing.

So yes, it was a good day… but even though she did feel somehow happy, she couldn't help but to feel something close to melancholy settling in her gut and extending all through her body.

She wasn't sure why, but she started feeling that way as soon as they told her that Aurora gave birth to a healthy baby boy and with the excuse of celebrating when in fact what she wanted was to numb the sensation, she brought two bottles of the best alcohol she had hidden under her bed and started day drinking with two of her housemates, Mal and Jefferson.

As a result, she was now right between that fine line of being buzzed and completely drunk.

"To friends, happiness and babies!"

Reaching for the bottle of tequila, Regina filled her glass. She didn't drink it though and instead stared at it for a second, thinking...

Thinking about the baby and what faith would he have, about Robin and the fact that she hasn't seen him around as of yet and sure, about how the world has turned so cruel as to allow the dead to rise and the living to turn against one another in such a gruesome way.

When it came to the last one, it was all crazy, and unjust, and she didn't feel alright celebrating when everything was so fucked up.

"Happiness. Do you think we could ever be really happy in this fucked up world we are living in?"

Snorting, Mal shook her head. "No. I mean if you think about the walkers and how everything went to shit I would say no way. But we don't have to be completely miserable either, if you know what I mean. We are after all alive and kicking, and we can drink and-"

"And some of us can get boyfriends. I mean not me, I'm not that lucky, but Regina… damn, you sure as hell went to strike hard again, uh?"

At Jefferson's words, Regina snorted. "Strike? Me?"

"Oh come on, you don't expect me to believe that _you_ and Mr. Hot British guy disappeared for I don't even know how many days, together, and you didn't work your magic to get in his pants?"

Gasping as if in horror, Mal put her glass down. "Oh no… tell me you didn't Regina… please tell me you didn't. Not after the mess with the other two..."

Closing her eyes and pushing the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue, the brunette snorted.

Yes, she could lie and deny it all, but hell… she lived with those two and if Robin kept his word and visited her that night, they were going to know.

And if they didn't get it on that occasion, sooner or later they would, as she would in a way make it obvious.

What could she say? She wasn't good at hiding her moods and she was sure as hell that if her thing with Robin progressed the way she wanted to, they were going to notice the switch from her usual cranky morning behavior to her good spirits in a matter of nothing.

Take that day for example, one look at her would have made them see it, because after sleeping half the morning away and feeling more than refreshed, she has gotten out of bed with a genuine smile on her face.

She never woke up like that, not even when she was with Samdi and let alone after her night with Graham. But with Robin she did, and her housemates, all three of them were damn nosey and they would quickly get it out of her.

But, Robin was a subject she didn't want to discuss when half drunk so getting up to her feet, she decided to do what she always did, play elusive…

"I'm going to go and take over a watch, my ass is hurting for sitting on it for so long."

"You slut, you fucking banged Locksley. Oh I want all the details. Was he good? He looks kind of intense, all manly man… in a good way. Mmm." Mal hummed in delight despite her previous words; meaning that she was more drunk than what she appeared to be.

"She always gets the hot ones. Samdi is a powerhouse, Graham is cute and Robin is hot as hell. You have to tell me your secret."

"Yeah me too, because I do both women and men and I haven't gotten any in I don't even know how long. What's in your coochie that has them wanting to dig in it?"

Rolling her eyes at both their friends, Regina turned around and walked away, shaking her head as she heard them talking in excited voices behind her.

She could even hear them laughing as she turned around and walked away from the picnic area, making her want to turn around and flip them the bird. Maybe she would have done it, and told them to fuck off, but before she could turn, her eyes fell on the figure of a man standing almost in front of her.

It made her halt on her tracks, cringing.

"Well?" The man said, raising his hands in the air and looking at her questioningly, as if she actually owned him an explanation.

"Go home Graham, don't make this turn awkward." She said, not wanting to deal with him. That was why she walked right by his side, with the intention of leaving him behind.

It didn't work, because Graham didn't seem to be good at taking hints. No… he has been on her ass ever since she made that stupid mistake of hooking up with him and as he would often do, he followed her, snorting. "So that's it then, you're going to be with Robin fucking Locksley now?"

Regina didn't reply and just kept walking, her features displaying how annoyed she was getting with the man.

"I saw you go to him last night so tell me, are you going to use him the same way you used me? And while we're at it, you could also tell me who is going to be next on your list. Because that's what you are trying to do, right? Sleep with every guy in Storybrooke?"

Twisting her lips and clenching her fists, Regina turned to him. "Listen to this very carefully, because I won't repeat it again; what I do and with whom I do it, is not your fucking business. So why don't you find a little dignity in your pathetic insignificant life and just leave me the hell alone."

Graham seemed to be a bit taken aback by her harsh words, but to be honest, she didn't care. It was not the first time she told him to let her be and that he was still insisting was annoying.

Actually, more than annoyed, she was fuming; not only because of what he said, but also because he was apparently following her and even questioning what she was doing.

It only added more fuel into her already sour mood when he didn't do as she said but just stood there as if thinking on a reply.

"Pathetic, uh? Well that's funny, because that's not what I heard from you when you ended up in my bed."

Rolling her eyes at the fact that he wasn't quitting, Regina lifted her hand and scratched the back of her head, hard. "Seriously, don't be an asshole and just drop it."

"No… I'm not going to drop-"

Fed up and too drunk to watch her words, Regina went off on him. "Fucking shit, Graham! In what language do I have to tell you that I don't want anything to do with you. That night meant nothing, I was drunk and stupid and it just… it meant nothing. So get it in your head that I don't want you, I don't want to even see your face so leave me the fuck alone."

Widening his eyes and then letting go of a deep sigh, Graham swallowed hard. "You are going to regret this, Regina. You, Robin… even David and his insipid little wife. All your group ever did when coming here was screw us over and I'm tired of it."

With that said, he turned his back to her and walked away, finally.

Scoffing, she shook her head incredulously as she watched him leave.

"Well, you sure know how to pick them."

At the sound of the familiar voice, Regina closed her eyes and shook her head… because no, this couldn't be happening to her. "You have to be kidding me." She mumbled to no one in particular.

And really, if this wasn't a curse, then she didn't know what it was.

"Seems like you only just go for the assholes. Is that it… is that your kink?"

Pushing her upper teeth with the tip of her tongue, the brown-eyed woman turned to him, taking notice that he was resting against the wall of one of the houses, not quite far from her but not too near either, and as he stared at her she saw that he was smoking a cigar.

She has always hated those damn things. "Yeah, apparently."

With that said she made to walk away because this really was an encounter she didn't want to have. Not that day, not ever.

"So it was true then, first Graham and now Robin."

She laughed, not really believing this was happening to her. But because she wanted to make things clear with him once and for all, she walked to him and got close enough to smell the smoke of his cigar.

"I don't see how that concerns you."

"It doesn't. But somehow it does too."

She crossed her arms to her chest and blinked a couple of times, the smile on her face as fake as a three dollar bill. "So how's Drizella?"

The tall man snorted. "I asked first, was it Graham and then Robin?"

"Fuck you Samdi." She said and with one of her infamous eye-rolls, she swirled on her feet to leave.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would think you are trying so very hard to fill up my shoes."

At the sound of his words and the usual smugness that characterized him, Regina's lips curved into a smirk. "And if I didn't know any better, I would say you weren't able to fill up mine." With that said, she flipped him off and walked away.

Feeling better because even though the encounter left a bitter taste in her mouth, at least she got the last word when it came to the man. It even made her smile, so that way, Regina walked to the gate.

Now, her intention was to take over guard duty. Why? Well… basically because she didn't have anything better to do and she has never been one to give into idleness.

Sure, she could have remained with Mal and Jefferson, maybe even go and get some rest, but the truth was that she needed the duty to sober up and then think.

It would also keep her busy until nightfall which was a good thing, but what was even better, it would keep her from having any more weird encounters through her day.

She didn't want to talk to anybody else. With Graham and Samdi was enough as they both drained her and annoyed her already.

The only person she didn't mind seeing was Robin, and since it was her the one that suggested they should meet sometime during the night, she had now to wait.

What could she say? She didn't want to swamp him by going to him instead of waiting, because really, that he agreed to see her after their night together was already more than what she had expected and as Mulan told her, when it came to him, she needed to have patience.

She needed to go at his pace… slow but steady…

That was how she spent the next few hours of her life, sobering up and monotonously waiting time to keep passing by. It dragged, on an on, but when the sun was at least far west and the sky was turning to it's oranges and reds, she started to feel a tingling in her stomach that was hard to ignore.

It wasn't nerves, but apprehension, and for a while it grew, her heart beating hard against her chest as she played with the possibility that maybe he wouldn't come.

Maybe he agreed with her to make her leave him alone… maybe that was why she hasn't seen his face all through the day, because he was avoiding her...

"Hey Regina, nice seeing you here."

Looking down to the gate from her place up in the scaffold that allowed her to see over the high fence surrounding their community, Regina watched as Sydney smiled at her, grabbing a rifle as if he knew what to do with it.

She didn't say anything to him though, and she just narrowed her eyes as she kept her gaze trained into the horizon.

Now, that she ignored the man was half because she didn't want to be bothered and half because something in the distance caught her attention.

"I wanted to say hi before, but you were so-"

"Shut up." She snapped from her place high on the gate as her once travel companion kept babbling about something that didn't really interest her.

"Ok, ok… I'm sorry. I won't bother you, much…"

Still ignoring him, her eyes narrowed even more, straining to see; but because it was still far, she couldn't quite get what it was. She had to use the lens of her rifle to get a better look and when she saw what it was, she cursed out loud.

"Fuck. A truck is coming and it doesn't look like one of ours. And it's coming fast."

Always looking for a way out, Sydney quickly mumbled something about getting David and then he disappeared, leaving the rifle behind.

"Shit this thing is not slowing down." Talking to no one, Regina hissed, because nope the truck was actually approaching at great speed.

Keeping her watch through the lens as a sense of dread settled in the pit of her stomach, she kept on the lookout, watching the truck get near and nearer with each passing second.

She kept it up until she heard David asking what was going on. He was probably with Mulan, because she heard her say something about Sydney and the rifle he left unattended .

She didn't look though and didn't even reply, as she was too concentrated trying to decide if she could have a good shot from such a distance.

"Regina, what's going on?" That was David, and judging by his tone, he was getting worried. "I'm going up."

Swallowing on dry and feeling a sweat break down her spine, the brunette woman clenched her jaw so hard it hurt.

"It's going to crash against the gate." Once she came to that conclusion, she opened fire, trying to aim for the tires or maybe even the glass.

Soon after, David was with her and he opened fire as well.

"Shit shit." He chanted when the truck kept coming. He barked some orders around and she could hear more people shooting as well, but she wasn't really paying attention.

Then, when the truck was near enough, whoever was on the passenger seat started to fire back as well.

It was the perfect opportunity because as he pushed his torso out the window, she managed to get a good shot to take him down.

It was all well, but before being hit, the man almost got the perfect shot at her as well. It just grazed her shoulder, but the impact made her lose her balance and with a surprised gasp, she fell backwards from the scaffold.

Now, the impact of hitting the ground knocked the wind out of her and for a few seconds that seemed to drag into an eternity, she wasn't able to breathe and she couldn't move.

She was pretty sure that she even blacked out for a second, and in her daze she wondered who was going to take her out if she died. They couldn't let her turn into one of those things… no, no, no….

"Regina, Regina…"

In a second, the ability to move and even feel rushed back and she gasped, desperately searching for air, her eyes shutting and her back arching in pain.

"Hey-"

The voice was faint, swallowed in all the commotion taking over her surroundings, but she heard him and alright… she even felt him. His hands on her face and them to the back of her head; then, when she was able to open her eyes, she saw the concern in the blue of his eyes.

"Just breath, nice and easy, alright?"

She did, her lungs back to functioning as the shock of the fall started to fade away.

"I fell." She said stupidly.

Why did she do that? She didn't know, she just knew that she felt slightly disoriented and that her whole world was spinning.

"Well no shit." He replied, lifting her off the ground and making her sit. "Can you stand?"

She nodded, but she made no attempt to do it. She just looked around to all the chaos that was unfolding.

The gate was busted open and half the fence was gone, there were some people she has never seen before firing at everything that moved and there were walkers inside too.

It was a total bloodbath, a nightmare... and she wondered how the hell did that happen.

"Robin, I need you here!" The voice sounded like David and turning her head to the man that was trying to get her to stand up, she blinked.

"Fuck off." Robin shouted back and focused instead on Regina.

"I'm okay." And really, once up she felt better, a bit dizzy and a hell of a lot sore, but nothing that was going to kill her. And when she checked her shoulder and corroborated that she was not shot even though she was bleeding some, she just nodded. "I'm okay. Just… I just need my rifle."

"You sure?" Handing her the weapon, Robin asked, but instead of replying with words, she just kissed his lips hard and quick.

"Yes." As soon as her words left her mouth, her hand went to his cheek, the feeling of him letting go of a deep breath he has been apparently holding, making her feel her heart swell. Still, she let go of him. "Now go."

He seemed reluctant, but when she reached for the rifle and started to take down the walkers, he left to help the others.

What happened next was something she unfortunately has lived many times before. People dying and screaming all around her no matter how fast she tried to prevent it. She shot until she ran out of ammo, and then she took the knives she always had strapped to her leg and continued the hard work.

All of it happened as if in slow motion, people and walkers dropping by the dozens all around her.

By the time she could see no more danger close by, she was exhausted and functioning on pure adrenaline. But no, she couldn't let her guard down and instead of dropping in a defeated heap down the ground, she started to look around for her people.

The first one she searched with her eyes was Robin and she found him alright, slashing through walker after walker by what used to be the entrance. He was with David and Mulan, holding the gate.

Sighing in relief, she kept looking; for Mal and Jefferson, Henry, Mary Margaret… she couldn't find any of them, but when she was going to go and look into the houses for them, the sound of many car horns started to come from outside and she froze.

As if in a bad dream that seemed to have no end, Regina walked to where the gate used to be, taking relief in the fact that at least Robin was still there and apparently unhurt. Neal and Samdi were there as well and they were all looking at a man standing on top of a flatbed truck.

The man, who was holding what appeared to be a cane wrapped in barbed-wire, was smiling, and she saw with a sense of dread that Graham was right behind him.

Opening her mouth, she scoffed, her mind going back to earlier that day when he told her she was going to regret giving him the boot.

It was all she could think off and as the man introduced himself and presented his demands, which happened to be the surrender of Storybrooke, Killian, Emma, a volunteer who he claimed was going to get killed as well as one who they were going to take with them, all she did was replay Graham's words over and over like a broken disc in her head.

She wasn't aware of what David's reply was, but whatever he said probably didn't please the man because soon after, everything turned into a war zone again; only that this time, the man Graham guided to their gates was making Storybrooke burn.

And through it all, she just stood there. Watching in stupefaction to the way Neal fell, victim of Gold's men shooting him for what looked like at least a dozen times.

If it wouldn't have been because Robin grabbed her and made her get on his bike with him, she would have remained there and got herself killed in the crossfire as well.

She probably deserved that fate, because as Robin sped off and she clung to him, all she could think was on how it was all her fault…

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

She was in shock.

She guessed that was the reason why she wasn't responding to the situation accordingly, why she wasn't crying in despair, or raging… or even feeling aggrieved.

There was nothing of that anywhere in her system and instead of getting swallowed into any of those justifiable emotions, she was just there, numb, her entire body slumping against Robin's back as he drove and drove as far away from the carnage as he could.

It was a strange thing and she wouldn't even know how to explain what she was feeling, but she guessed the closest thing she could think of was that everything felt as if she was living in an out of body experience, one where even though she could clearly see herself and the frozen expression on her face, she couldn't feel a damn thing.

She was just lost… almost catatonic, that sense of sorrow or even guilt she knew should be consuming her whole completely evading her.

For how long she experienced the bizarre sensation? She wasn't sure as it all happened in a blur. One moment she was standing by the fallen fence of what used to be Storybrooke, watching it burn, and then they were riding away in a haste, flying low through long abandoned roads, cutting through the chilly night and leaving everything behind.

They just left… the chaos, the dead… their life, and now she was too shell-shocked to grasp the meaning of it all.

It was bad... in fact, her state of mind was so off that as they moved forward, she was barely aware of the few cars that were riding along after them, or of Robin's tense muscles as she clung to him or even the dull ache on her entire body. All that was nothing in her mind… even when in some strange way she could feel the coldness of the night making her skin raise on goosebumps and the expression of her face freezing into a stoic mask.

It was just crazy, nothing made sense, the notions of time and space becoming these irrational things that followed no rules, and it actually wasn't until they finally stopped over in a clearing and she was able to sit in a heap over the grass and digest what just went on, that the reality of it all started to fully hit her.

Storybrooke fell… it was just… gone… and it took so many lives along with it that she couldn't even begin to comprehend who and how.

She just knew about Neal because she saw it with her own eyes, but there had been too much blood and walkers all over to even pretend he had been the only one… and God, she didn't even want to think about who else died… and all because of her...

"Son of a bitch!"

Taken out of her trance by the way those words resonated all through the night, Regina looked up to see Robin angrily pushing his bike to the ground. Once it was down, he started to kick at it hard enough to break the rear view mirror as well as the stand out of it, and even then, he kept kicking at it.

Regina watched in silence while that happened, once again feeling that out of body experience take over her. This time, having her be there as a simple spectator that got to observe the man take all his frustrations against the bike while car after car, people started to arrive.

"I'm gonna kill that stupid son of a bitch. Fuck!"

Sucking into a shaky breath, Regina closed her eyes to Robin's words, her chest heavy with so many repressed emotions and the effort of keeping them down making her shake all over.

Not like she had so much time to dwell in her own inability to react, because as if they were in a movie and someone pressed the fast forward button, everything started to rush forward in a matter of nothing. Or at least, she was forced out of the slow motion bubble her mind has created.

"Has anyone seen David?"

Tilting her chin up and to the right, Regina watched as Mary Margaret quickly climbed out of a van, her face pale and her eyes huge as plates. She asked that while being followed by a bunch of crying kids. Emma was with her, as well as Archie and what appeared to be a very disoriented Sidney.

Regina's vision was a little blurry and she somehow was having a hard time focusing, but when she recognized a few of the kids' faces, among them Hansel, Gretel and Henry, she couldn't help but to feel some of the heaviness in her chest drop by a little bit.

It also helped that Robin stopped his attack on the bike and focused instead on an approaching Mary Margaret.

"Robin, have you seen David? I can't… I couldn't find him back there and… I don't know where he is."

Before he could respond, Tink started shooting from one of the cars as Samdi rushed through the gathering crowd with an injured Mulan lying limp on his arms and that seemed to take Robin's attention away from anything else.

"I need help here, quick, quick!"

Swallowing hard and forcing herself to look around, Regina found herself in the middle of a little bit of chaos. There was Mary Margaret desperately looking for her husband, Robin basically snatching Mulan away from Samdi and Gretel bawling her eyes off.

Everything was a mess, and for the good part of the following few seconds, she couldn't do anything but sit on the dirt, her eyes blinking rapidly and her limbs feeling heavy as stones.

It was from there that she watched Emma rush to help Robin with Mulan, the blonde trying to identify what appeared to be gunshots wounds while Ruby started to gather the kids, making them sit on a circle in the middle of the parked cars.

It was then that Regina reacted, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and getting up so that she could find out how to help.

She ended up going to Robin and Emma. Not because part of her somehow wanted to be near him, but because they seemed to be the busiest ones around with Mulan.

"How many times was she hit?" She asked quickly, her voice raw while helping Robin turn the injured woman to the side so that they could check for exit wounds.

Blowing out a breath, Emma, who Regina was not sure why was there, winced. "At least two… I can't be sure, there is so much blood."

Touching around the woman's side, Regina nodded, realizing with some relief that the bullets came out clean and through. It was also a good sign that the woman had a pulse… even if that wouldn't be for too long if they remained there, in the middle of nowhere and without any proper care.

"We can't stay here. We need to take her somewhere else." Laying Mulan back down, Regina determined, her eyes shooting up so that she could look at Robin's own eyes.

Clearing his throat, Archie inserted himself into the conversation. "Yeah, but where should we go, any takes, Robin?"

Parting her lips and letting out a shallow breath come out, Regina nodded. She didn't know how, but she knew what was going to be the man's response and even though she could see the danger in that, she agreed with him.

"Hyperion Heights." Robin said through clenched teeth as he kept his eyes on Regina. "There's no other choice."

"Have you lost your mind, you want to drive this madman right to the very gates of another community for him to destroy?" Samdi cut in, taking a couple of steps until he was standing to Robin's back.

Without blinking, Robin turned, facing him. "Yeah, and what do you suggest? Stay here in the open, waiting to get ambushed or for the walkers to come and take us all down? We need to gather up, Mulan needs medical attention now, and we can't keep the kids too long out here. So unless you have a better idea, just shut the fuck up."

Knowing Samdi the way she did, Regina wiped her hands to her hips and lifted her chin up, letting Emma take her of Mulan for the time being...

"Why don't _you_ shut the fuck up and listen to yourself talking. For all we know, this Gold has his men set after us, so do you really want to endanger everyone there just because you are too much of a pussy to stand your ground? There are many places we could lay low for a night without putting Hyperion Heights at risk..."

Seensing Robin's intention of punching the man right on his face, Regina inserted herself in the middle of them, pushing Samdi back with one hand and with the other making Robin stand still.

"Mulan can't wait, she already lost too much blood so what are we going to do?"

"She's right, if you don't want her to die we have to act now." Emma said, prompting Gretel to cry harder.

"Well, I don't want to be the one putting pressure or anything, but it won't be long before the walkers come after us and with the children here, it will be bad. We do need to move or else. " Archie announced as he grabbed for a knife, ready for the dead to come after them.

Nodding, Tink also spoke. "If we stay, we can take turns and try to take the walkers out as best as we could… but we don't know how many of them there would be. If a big herd comes, I don't know if we can do enough to keep us safe all through the night. We are drained already."

Taking those last words as all the encouragement he needed, Robin hissed. "Ruby, I need you to take Mulan and the kids to Hyperion Heights, you'll take Emma and Mary Margaret with you as well. Mary Margaret, you think you are up to help Emma with Mulan?"

Still affected by the fact that David was nowhere to be found but probably remembering that she was the closest thing to a doctor they all had, she nodded, moving forward to do what needed to be done."

"And who the hell appointed you leader of the pack, making crappy decisions like that, Locksley?"

"Fuck off, Samdi. You want to be leader, fine… man up and take these people to safety, to Hyperion Heights."

"And screw their community over? Do it yourself if you want to, but I'm not going to do such a thing. I'm going to go and find the people who did this and end them all."

"And do you really think Hyperion Heights is not already in danger, don't you think Gold knows about it with Graham there with him? We have to make it there, not only because we need a safe place to stay, but because we need to warn them and be ready to defend it if necessary. We can't let them fall too."

Curling her lips, Samdi grunted, but he didn't say anything more and that let Regina know that yeah, he was going to Hyperion Heights. The question was, where was Robin planning to go if he wanted the other man to be the one leading what was left of the group?

It wasn't until she saw Robin turn from them and grab the bike from the ground where he pushed it not long ago, that she started to react, following him until she was standing right in front of him.

"Where are you going?"

Looking at her and blinking a couple of times, Robin blew out a breath. He still looked mad, but also lost… broken. "I have to go back and look for the others… see if there is someone left behind."

Furrowing her brows and lifting her hand to her eyes to shield them from the headlights of the van Ruby was using to take care of Mulan and the children, Regina gasped. "To Storybrooke?"

Sucking his lips into his mouth, he looked around, blinking rapidly. "Yeah."

"Okay. I'll go with you… I need to find Mal and Jefferson."

"No. I need you to make sure Samdi doesn't fuck things over, so you have to go with them."

Shaking her head because no, she didn't want to babysit anybody, Regina opened her mouth to protest; but before she could say a thing, Robin grabbed the back of her head and pressed his forehead to hers.

"I _need_ you to be at Hyperion Heights, safe. You understand?"

Puffing out a breath, Regina shook her head no again. "No. You're going to do something stupid, I know it-"

"I'll just look for the other's. I… just need to bring David back… he was supposed to be riding right after me so I need to go and check why he didn't, alright? I'll be back before you know it."

With that said, he kissed her, a lingering peck on her lips before he climbed onto his bike and drove away.

Regina watched him go, her heart heavy and her eyes tingling. What she wasn't sure was if they felt like that because she wanted to cry or because the smoke they had to endure back in Storybrooke.

The only thing she was entirely sure was that by then, the first car was gone while she remained there, standing alone and with her gaze lost into the distance.

"Come on, Regina."

Turning her face around after what felt like an eternity, the brunette saw how the last car stopped by her side. Inside there were Archie, Tink and Henry and they were all waiting for her to get in.

Shaking herself back into reality and touching her side to make sure she still had her knives there, Regina clenched her jaw and got in.

Now, if the clearing was a total chaos, Hyperion Heights was even worse. They were the last to arrive so by the time they crossed the gates, everybody and their mothers knew about what happened in Storybrooke.

Regina walked in watching it all, her eyes drinking it but her mind rejecting it. It all just felt so surreal that she didn't know what to do or where to go. There were people crying and asking questions everywhere, while others shared the news of those who died or were lost.

Neal, Drizella, Erick, Tuck, Alice… those were the fallen ones, and some even said David, but nobody could say for sure.

Part of her wanted to go to Mary Margaret just in case the news got to her as she tended Mulan with the town's own doctor, but her muscles were frozen on the spot and quite honestly, she wouldn't know what to say. She felt lost, she wasn't even sure what was happening and the notion that she hadn't felt anything similar since the day Daniel died scared the hell out of her.

It was just that things like that were not supposed to occur, not when they were at their best and not when they were supposed to be thriving instead of seeing it all disappear into smoke and ashes.

"You think we are going to be safe here?"

At the sound of that voice, Regina turned and saw Henry standing by her side. He looked younger than ever before and at the sight of his face, pale and his lips trembling as if he was trying to keep himself from crying, something in her heart gave up.

She wasn't one to be touchy friendly, but she just felt like she needed to throw an arm around the teen's shoulders and bring him closer, the side of her head touching his. "We will, we have to."

For the next hour or so, she got busy finding a place for Henry to stay and some clean clothes for him to wear, and once that was done, she made sure to secure a room for herself because well, Hyperion Heights wasn't as big as Storybrooke and if she waited until later, she would have to end up sleeping in someone's couch and she didn't want that. Not when Robin was supposed to be getting back soon.

Actually, by all rights he should be there already so after taking a shower and rubbing all the grimm off of her body, she walked out of the room in Ursula's place and started to look for him.

"Have you seen Robin?" She asked Tink when she saw her walk in her direction. She came from the gate, so if the man arrived, she should have seen him.

"No… and let me tell you, as soon as he gets back he is going to get sucked into a real mess. Samdi wants to go and find this Gold right now while the others insist on standing guard here in case he shows up. It's getting really heated, so if I was in his place, I wouldn't come back just yet. You too, you should go anywhere but that gate. Go rest instead, because I'm sure tomorrow we will have one hell of a day." Saying no more, the blonde woman walked away.

Not minding her words, Regina kept roaming around, waiting for Robin.

She did it as she tried to keep her mind distracted from Graham and how he betrayed them, and most definitely, trying her best not to think of the fact that neither Mal or Jefferson were there, and that it shouldn't have taken Robin so long to be there.

It was hard, ignoring those thoughts, but she did her best by keeping busy. She helped with Mulan for a while, she double checked Henry and the other kids, she asked Ursula to show her their storage of guns to see if there was enough to defend the community, and even for some time, she got as close as she could to gate, watching but not able to listen to the exchange between Samdi, Killian, (who she didn't know how the hell got there), Arthur, Philip and Aladdin.

And still, even after doing all that, Robin never showed up.

By the time morning was menacing to creep upon them and even Samdi gave up on his intent to retaliate, she felt anxious as hell, sitting on the porch of some random house close to the gate and feeling like crying.

It was just that the impotence of being there and having her hands tied was killing her. She has never been good at waiting and doing nothing, but as it seemed, she had no option but to do just that.

She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, and her stomach was too much in a knot to pass food, so all there was to do was sit and wait.

Tugging compulsively at the long sleeve of the shirt she was now wearing, Regina simply kept waiting and worrying because she didn't know what else to do. Part of her knew that Robin was probably alright and that he was just doing his thing out there… maybe even trying to process everything on his own, which was understandable, but at the same time there was another part of her brain, a much louder and insistent part that wanted her to believe that there was a possibility that something could have happened to him.

She knew that was almost impossible because Robin knew how to handle himself, but what if maybe a walker got him, or Gold…

Same with Mal and Jefferson. What if they were all dead while she just sat there?

Cradling her face into her hands, a choked sob rocked her body. The thing was that the mind was a funny thing when in distress, and as she sat there waiting, it played with all kinds of possibilities that ranged from the most ridiculous, to the most macabre. None of them were any good to her peace of mind, and if it wasn't because it was still dark, she would go out and find them.

"Come on guys." She mumbled under her breath, thinking particularly on Robin because he was the one who should be there. Mal and Jefferson could have gone anywhere and were hopefully fine and together, but Robin should have been _there_ already.

So yes, she was worried about his well being and she would give anything just to know that he was fine. But as time kept passing and there was no sign of him, that worry started to mingle with some anger because she knew that he was probably fine and her mind was just playing tricks with her about the possibility that he was injured or worse, dead.

Most likely than not, he was okay, at least uninjured; he just plain and simple didn't care enough to let her know that he wasn't coming back that night. Not even after he told her he was going to be back before she knew it.

Who knew? Maybe he didn't plan on ever coming back and wouldn't that prove that everything she had been trying to put in the back of her mind ended up being true? That just when things were at their best and she found herself in a good place, everything would take a dip into the worse?

Feeling her chest heavy with a suppressed sorrow she wanted to keep in, the brunette woman cleared her throat and wondered what was the point of being there. If he showed up, he was going to do it whether she was there or not, and it was more than clear that if he wasn't coming, her staying there wasn't going to change that.

But still, she waited until darkness turned into the early hours of the morning, and just when she was sure that she couldn't keep chastising herself anymore and should instead go into the bedroom she got and cry herself to sleep as she felt like doing, she heard it.

It was faint at first, so in case it was all in her mind, she held her breath and waited. The more she waited the louder it got.

Feeling her heart hammering inside her chest so hard she was sure her ribcage was going to end up fractured, Regina got up to her feet and bit hard on her lips. It didn't make much sense, but it felt as if time slowed down to a crawl as she tried to take a good look. It was hard because it was still kind of dark, but when the gate was opened by the guy keeping watch she did see it, the bike and what she assumed was him getting closer and closer.

By the time he parked the bike inside and got down, all trace of being angry faded away and she ran to him, wrapping her arms to his neck as his own arms came to circle around her, holding her tight.

For several seconds she said nothing and neither did he, they just stood there, holding onto one another, her face buried into his neck while barely standing on the tip of her boots.

Now, he smelled like smoke and cigarettes but he also smelled of him. His scent, a trace that was so his a bit faint, but it still gave her some kind of solace because he was there, finally tangible.

Pulling away from him she moved one of her hands to the nape of his neck and looked at him in the eye. He looked worse than devastated and she was sure that he was chewing on his lips as a way to stop himself from crying. That right there made her heart skip a beat to then start beating with renewed force. She had to use her free hand to wipe her eyes as she didn't want to start crying herself.

Lowering her eyes so that she could take a quick glance to the rest of him, she noticed that he looked as if he has been rolling on the dirt and she wondered what the hell he had been doing. At least he seemed unhurt and in one piece, so she was going to take what she got.

"Come on, let's get you inside."

Taking him by the hand, Regina guided him straight into the room Ursula offered, and when she told him they should get him off his muddy clothes, he didn't complain. He just didn't say anything and that was how she got him into the shower.

There was some hot water left and they used it to scrub him clean. From his hair and his face to the dirt on his nails. Once again, she wondered about where he had been and doing what.

She didn't ask, she didn't even say a thing, as there were moments when words were unnecessary and unwanted. Sometimes what the beaten needed wasn't someone to cheer them up with empty words, but someone who could sit with them in silence and just be there. Sometimes talk was cheap and actions expensive, that was why she was doing everything she could to make him comfortable, to make him know that she cared.

She even went and prepared something quick that they both could eat once the shower was done and he was warm and dressed with the clothes she was able to grab from him.

The only problem was that he wasn't eating, he took a bite and that was it. Now the sandwich hung from his hand as he just sat there looking at it.

Regina noticed all that, and while trying to find the words to ask what he found out there, he tilted his head towards her and just stared.

He seemed more composed now, but his eyes spoke volumes and she felt that there was something heavy on his heart he wasn't sharing. Could it be that he found out David was indeed dead? Did he find others?

Before she could ask anything, he spoke first.

"Come here."

Getting up from the corner of the bed she had been sitting on, Regina did as he asked. Once in front of him, she straddled him. Sure, the intentions were not the same but it still felt like déjà vu, her mind going back to that night at the beach.

That first time she did it on a wild impulse, now she was doing it because she wanted to feel him close, to feel the warmth of his body as she molded herself to him.

It did bring her some comfort and much like she did when he first showed up, she buried her face into the crook of his neck and inhaled into his scent. Then, as his hand came to rest on the back of her head and the other to her lower back, she couldn't help but to think about everything that went on in Storybrooke.

The previous night had defeated them, not just Neal and all of those who didn't make it, but all of them.

"I'm going back out there." He said into her hair and she automatically pulled away to look at his face. His eyes held the same beaten dullness as before, and as she tried to register what he meant by that, she found no expression on his face.

"You're leaving?"

Nodding, he twisted his mouth, but he kept his eyes on hers. She had to blink a couple of times. She didn't know how, but she was somehow sure that if he went away, it was to never come back. She just knew it and not only that, she felt it in her gut like a sharp stab.

"Why?"

Taking in a shaky breath, Robin looked away. He probably did it to compose himself and when he thought he could say what he had to say, he spoke. "I couldn't find David, I looked everywhere, every house and all around among the walkers but he wasn't one of them. He wasn't killed there."

Getting from his words that he spent the entire night killing walker after walker all around Storybrooke trying to find David, Regina swallowed on dry. "Did you see Mal?"

Robin shook his head and even thought that didn't mean her friend was alive, in a way it was a relief to have some hope. It didn't last much though, because the look on Robin's face told her that he did find others.

"Jefferson?"

Biting hard on his lips, Robin closed his eyes, his hand moving to her cheek. "I'm sorry… I got there too late. Most of them were turned already..."

"Oh…" She mumbled, not sure about what else to say. To be honest, the news felt as if he threw an icy-cold bucket of water over her head and as a result, she was frozen… once again in shock…

Because Jefferson was dead, and Neal and Alice… and it was in a way her fault.

"I know I'm going out on a limb and that I could end up not finding anything, but I have to at least try. I've given up on people I thought were lost forever just to find out they weren't. I left them for dead when I could've done something and I won't do it again."

Moving her hands down until they could rest over his chest, Regina nodded because yes, she could understand what he was saying and part of her could roll with it, but at the same time, she didn't want him to go. Not on his own and not when she felt on the verge of crumbling.

It made her feel desperate, and as such, she acted.

"Robin… We just lost Neal, and in a way David... so we can't lose you too. We all need you now, more than ever." And maybe she was exaggerating, but she really believed that Robin walking out there to look for something he may never find could end up being another loss, because he just wasn't going to search for a couple of hours and then come back.

No, he was going to search and when he would find nothing, he was going to march right towards Gold to try to take him down. On his own, without caring about consequences or the danger to his own life.

"Nobody needs me here. Not with Lancelot, Merida, _you_ and even that asshole Samdi. I know nothing will happen with all of you on the lookout-"

"And what about me?" She asked between clenched teeth before he could go on. He wasn't getting it. And yes, maybe she was being too emotional or the bump she took to the head was finally affecting her, or maybe she was just being an egoist jerk; but the truth was that she wasn't so much preoccupied about the fate of their group without Robin. True, he was a great asset, but what she really wanted to prevent was losing him, the man. "I need you."

Dragging his thumb over her lips, Robin pierced her with his eyes while allowing his thumb to run slowly up her cheek and then back over her mouth. It was a tender caress he has never done before and she had to close her eyes to prevent them from letting her tears fall.

She wasn't going to cry, especially not if he was leaving her, and it felt so much like he was doing just that.

True, once he was gone she was going to do it, but in front of him she couldn't. If she just allowed a single tear to drop, she knew she would end up begging him to stay and that would be pathetic in her book.

Unfortunately, that was what she felt like doing right there so maybe she was going to make a mess out of everything after all.

"You don't need me. You don't need shit from anyone. You are strong and smart and you have what's needed to survive in this world. Besides there are more than a handful of assholes out there ready to fill my boots in case you need it. I've seen how they look at you, I'm not blind."

Chuckling bitterly and opening her eyes, she felt the first tear fall. She wiped it off angrily with the back of her hand. "So that's it, you just want me to go to someone else and pretend this didn't happen? It doesn't work like that, I don't want… I don't care about any of them, I care about you."

His hand was still on her face and his eyes still locked on her eyes. "Well maybe you shouldn't."

That did it, as soon as he said that she forgot all about her self control and got really mad.

She just didn't get why he had to be such a jerk, so feeling fed up, she pushed herself away from him and poked a finger to his chest. "You know what, you are right, I shouldn't."

She said that in an angry hiss and swirling on her feet to get away, she walked a couple of steps towards the door. Her intentions had been to go out, she wasn't sure where but she guessed somebody else in Hyperion Heights would let her have a couch or something.

But, before she could even reach the doorknob, she felt his hand on her shoulder making her turn to him.

"Don't touch me." She slapped his hand away, not because she didn't want him to touch her, but because her eyes were already full of unshed tears and she didn't want him to see her like that.

Not like it mattered, because as he turned her around, it was too late and all her pent up emotions finally got the best of her and she was all of a sudden crying. For Jefferson, for the guilt that was silently eating her inside out, because he was leaving and because she has been just too stupid as to fall for him and think that maybe happiness was attainable in such a fucked up world.

It wasn't, and she has known since the beginning that one way or another, things would end up taking a turn for the worse and here it was. Now, because she didn't want to listen to her gut, she was in that situation.

"I said get your hands off of me."

Not listening to what he just said, Robin pulled her to him and circled her in his arms; she tried to wriggle herself out of his hold but he wasn't giving her any chance. Having no choice, she just cried there, hating herself for it.

"I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry." He said after a while, when she was a bit calmer, and if anything, that made her feel worse.

By then he has somehow dragged her from the door and they were now sitting over the bed, her head to his chest and her legs over his thighs.

Chewing the nail of her thumb, Regina closed her eyes. She had stopped crying, but her eyelashes felt moist and she fought the urge of running the back of her hand against them. "Is that what you want me to do? To go out there to some random guy and forget about you?"

Clearing his throat and resting his chin on top of her head, he replied. "You know that's not what I want."

"Then why did you say it?"

He offered no explanation so shifting her position so that she could look him in the eye, she pushed a bit more. "Robin-"

"You'll be better off if I'm gone. Regina... I'm no good to anyone, I never was. I can't keep the people I care for safe. Not even David… I couldn't even save him and I could have, I was with him, I was… he told me to go ahead while he held the gate and I left... I left him alone and now he is gone. He could have been ripped apart by the walkers for all we know… and all because I left him there."

After saying that, he covered his face with his hands and began to cry.

For a second, she was at a loss about what to do, but then, much as he did with her earlier on, she held him as he let it all out. He did that for a while, and as it happened, she could feel her own tears flowing again.

It was only when she felt him getting a bit more composed that she removed his hands from his face and wiped his tears. She also kissed his closed eyelids, his cheek and lightly on his lips, as she started to tell him that it hadn't been his fault.

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't. He told you to go. You did, and you brought us all here, so don't say you are no good to anybody." Besides, if there was someone to blame, it was her; after all, that Graham ended up betraying them the way he did was all on her.

It was something she had been trying to ignore but that it was there, wanting to break free. Not like she was going to say it… not yet, as she wasn't ready for the responsibility that would carry.

What if he didn't want anything to do with her after? What if he was so repulsed by her being the one that provoked so much killing? So much pain?

Oh, it was going to be devastating and she didn't want that, but regardless, she was going to tell him… just not yet...

"Should've been me the one staying."

Dragging her hand to his forehead, Regina brushed his hair back. "Robin, I wouldn't be able to take it well if something happened to you, above all of what already did. I can't keep losing people so don't even… is that how little you care for me?" God, she had been going out of her mind with him not showing up, so she didn't even want to imagine what she would have done with him completely gone.

"I do care. I'm just messed up."

Kissing the corner of his lips, she said something he has said to her when she told him the same thing, that she was messed up. "Aren't we all?"

Cradling her face in his hands, Robin just looked at her.

"Let's do something. It's late, we're tired and emotional so… maybe we can talk about everything after some sleep?"

Leaning forward, he kissed her. She wasn't sure what that meant but she kissed him back, because yes, she was going to tell him about Graham first thing when they woke up, so if it happened that this was going to be their last kiss, then she better make it a good one.

So, she kissed him with everything she had, savoring every moment and engraving in her mind everything about it. From the taste of him to the way his tongue always looked for overpowering hers and yes, to the way his lips felt against her own.

When he pulled a bit away, she buried her fingers into the silkiness of his hair and remained close, so close that she could feel his breathing brushing against her face.

"Regina?" He asked against her lips before kissing her again, but this time just placing a soft peck on her lips.

"Yeah?"

Breathing in, he sucked his lips into his mouth and chewed on them a bit before leaving them be. "What you said earlier on, you know I care too, right?"

Nodding because she didn't want to talk about anything until they had the Graham talk, she kissed him softly.

"I know. Now let's sleep, okay?"

Kissing him again until she somehow ended up on top of him while he lay on his back, Regina hummed. His hands were underneath her shirt and she was back to straddling him, but instead of pushing things to go further, she pulled from the kiss and just rested there against him.

She remained a while like that, their breathing in sync as his fingers ran circles against her back.

She closed her eyes like that, breathing into his scent and with the beating of his heart matching hers, she fell asleep…

When she woke up, warm and cozy in Robin's arms, the sun was high and bright and yes, as she should have known it would happen, she freaked out with the thought of opening up and telling him about her role in last night's attack on Storybrooke. Because fuck, he was not going to like that and she wasn't sure she was going to be able to handle the reproach in his eyes.

There was also a deep sense of guilt because this was not just about Robin probably not wanting anything to do with her, but it was about all the people who died. It was about their home being destroyed, about Robin spending the night killing their friend's turned into the walking dead and yes, about Mal and David being nowhere to be found; and all that was too much of a heavy burden for her.

She didn't want such a weight on her shoulders and no, even in the rare case Robin wouldn't react badly to it, the truth was that she didn't want to get comfortable enough to want more than what she had with him.

Doing that, caring… was a mistake she swore not to make ever again. No, she had been living in that new cruel world long enough to know that everything would go straight to hell just when people got comfortable enough to think everything was as good as it could get.

Like Jefferson, who has been happy and pleasant hours before getting killed...

Feeling overwhelmed with the thoughts of her former roommate, Regina climbed out of bed and without saying a thing, she hurried to get dressed. True, maybe she needed time to put her thoughts in order before doing anything drastic, but right in that moment, that seemed impossible.

She just felt as if she needed to get out of there as soon as possible, so grabbing for her boots, she started to put them on.

Maybe she should go and look for Mal and David herself… it was the least she could do with the whole thing being her fault… and yes, maybe she should be the one killing both Graham and Gold.

It was just when she was looking for her hunting knives that Robin woke up. "Hey- you leaving?" He asked, still sleepy and so alluring… making her feel like snuggling back with him.

But no, shaking her head and holding tight onto the knives, Regina looked everywhere but him. "Yeah I need to go… I um…." Before finishing that sentence, she had a deja-vu moment. Only that the roles were inverted now and she was the one fleeing the scene without the intention of a real explanation. As confused as she was feeling, she knew she couldn't do that to him.

It had been a hard blow when Samdi did it to her, because she hadn't been expecting it, and she didn't want Robin to feel that way; especially when just as recently as the previous night they were in that same room kissing and confessing how much they cared for each other.

Besides she wasn't even sure what she wanted to do, she just needed to think.

"I need to think about this."

"About what?" He asked and from his tone she could guess that he knew what was coming.

Shaking her head and covering her face with her hand, Regina said nothing. She could feel her eyes prickling behind her closed eyelids and the last thing she needed in that moment was to cry. Maybe she shouldn't have said so much to him.

"I think… I said things last night that I shouldn't have… maybe we both did."

"Hmmm." He mumbled, running a hand down his face.

"I… don't know what to say…"

"Don't beat around the bush and just fucking say it."

Taking her hand off her face and gathering the courage to look at him even though her eyes were full of unshed tears and she could feel her lips trembling, she sighed. "I can't do this… it's not what I want…" Her voice trembled, but she managed to keep her eyes on him.

Pushing the inside of the corner of his lips with his tongue, Robin nodded. He looked mad and she couldn't say that she could blame him. After all, she had been the one almost begging him to stay and now this. But instead of replying or telling her off, what he did was get up, grab his things and walk out.

Once he was out the door, a sob escaped her and she felt the urge of going after him.

She didn't, and as she stood there, the notion that she screwed up started to consume her whole…

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

The auditorium was crowded.

Or at least, that was the impression Regina got as soon as she walked into the building, the sound of her boots preceding her presence in such an ominous way that made her cringe.

Now sure, finding what apparently used to be a beauty salon in the old days to its full capacity could easily be an optical illusion given the fact that the building was ridiculously small, as there couldn't be more than a dozen people in there, but the size of the small crown didn't take away from the sudden urge she felt of just turning around to leave the place for good.

Not just what the locals called the auditorium, but Hyperion Heights and everything and everyone it represented.

It was the best she could do because really, she wasn't full into the building yet and she could already feel the accusations being thrown her way, making the guilt that has been eating her whole since the moment she woke up that afternoon rush up to her face, burning up from her neck to her cheeks.

Could it be that they knew about her involvement in Graham betraying them? Did they know it had all been her fault?

She wasn't sure if that was why everyone looked up and stared at her as soon as she opened the door to attend the meeting, but it sure didn't feel good to her.

The air was thick with tension, there were a lot of long faces and… things just didn't feel right.

Not that she had been expecting anything less than the accusatory dirty glances but God… back when she had been outside, chewing the inside of her thumb as she debated between going in or keep walking, the price to see _him_ even if it was from afar felt worth the hate.

Now, going in to see Robin wasn't something she planned, because she definitely didn't want to go to the meeting and let alone run into him, but when she had been passing by, meaning to leave Hyperion Heights for good, she noticed that his bike was still there and she felt like she needed to go in… like she needed to see him.

It was like there was a pull drawing her to him and yes, at the end of it all she sucked in a deep breath, lifted up her chin and walked in. Her intentions had been taking one last look at the man that had been invading her thoughts all through the day.

That was supposed to be all. It was supposed to be quick and yes, she knew there has been a risk of him actually taking notice and she hadn't minded much, but what she hadn't been expecting, was to be thrown into the spotlight so soon… or for the place to be so small that his presence in there, even when sitting at the back of the room, would feel so close.

She hadn't been counting with any of that and actually, she had kind of wanted to just sneak in, take a good look at him for what could easily be her last time and then silently go back out and take off.

It didn't happen that way, unfortunately, and even though she didn't dare to look at him, she could feel his eyes burning all over her skin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt… I'll go."

"No, no… come in; we can use another head to think this one through."

A little taken aback by the sound of Samdi's voice echoing all through the confinements of the small space, Regina narrowed her eyes because shit, if there was someone in that community that could throw her under the bus when it came to Graham's motives to do what he did, it was this man right here.

After all, he witnessed the moment Graham menaced her and told her she was going to regret turning him down. Same way he heard when the fucking ashole said that Robin was going to regret God knew what, and David... and yeah, look at where they were now...

"I think it's clear we need to retaliate and take this Gold man down, so are you in or are you out?"

"It's not about being in or out, it's about doing it right." The one speaking had been August, and judging by the annoyed look on his face when he said it, Regina knew the subject has been an ongoing theme for a while now. "If we go now, we're gonna get ourselves killed. We need more arms, we need a plan…"

"Fuck plans. You think this old guy is sitting on his ass right now thinking of a plan? He's probably on his way here, ready to attack us at this very moment. If we stay here, we're all going to get killed, women and kids included." Samdi said back, making August groan.

"That's why we need to focus on defense first. Let's say we go there; fine, we get our best people out looking for him and yes, we're all ready to kill and die. But what happens back here, what happens if this guy sends his people and attacks home? Are they going to defend the gates on their own, will we leave Granny in charge? We'll we put Sydney as our top dog?"

"Well, Granny is a great shot, better that Sydney." Merida said with a snicker and a few of the people present laughed a little. Samdi didn't, and neither did Robin.

Now, Regina hadn't gathered the courage to straight look at Robin as of yet, but she could kind of see him out of the corner of her eyes and ever since she walked in, he hadn't said a thing or even shifted. He was just sitting there, listening… probably watching her because yes, she could feel those burning blues making her flesh burn.

"So you want to hide, is that it? You want us to pretend we didn't have our asses handed to us back at Storybrooke? you want to pretend they didn't kill our people and destroy our home?"

"Nobody's saying that Samdi, what we are saying is that we need to do things right." Dragging a hand down his face, Philip added, apparently getting tired of the back and forth.

"So you are sucking Locksley's dick on this one too? Man, aren't you all are all a bunch of cowards?"

At the outburst, Regina did look up, not to look at Robin, but at Samdi, her eyebrow arching and her lips curling a little.

"Oh so we are cowards? You probably don't care about it, but I have a newborn here, and I'm not willing to leave him and Aurora unprotected just because you want to prove you are the new sheriff in town. If you want to call that being cowardly then go ahead and do it, I don't care."

"I think you should stop trying to suck your own dick and listen for a moment to what we are saying." Robin said at last and she couldn't help it, she had to look. He was there, his eyes set on Samdi and an unlit cigarette dancing between his fingers. "Yeah, we should go and take Gold and his men down, but we have to make sure Hyperion Heights and everyone in here stays safe while we do so. We can't prioritize one thing over the other, and we sure as fuck can't rush looking for a fight when don't have enough guns to hold our ground."

"And where do we find more guns?" Merida asked.

"I know of a place, at the end of the interstate almost crossing States. I can go and get more than a nice share to get us going. You just give me a car and I'll be back with them in a day."

Scoffing as Killian talked, Samdi shook his head no. "And why would we trust you, of all people?"

"Because I know better than anyone here how Gold operates. I know his weak points, I know where he has outposts and I know where he is."

"They have been at this for a while, and judging by the huge egos I see, they are going to be here all night long."

Tilting her head to the side, Regina saw that Emma was now standing by her side, and at the sight of her, she clenched her jaw.

She was still bitter about everything the woman and Killian made her and Robin go through, so she didn't appreciate how the two of them were there, being a part of their group's decision making.

"He's right, you know? I know you guys don't like us or even trust us, but we know things about Gold that can be real game changers when it comes to taking him down. We've been a while around to know that the old fuck is a creature of habit, and that he does the same thing with every community he gets around to. He probably has this David guy of yours too… and he will use him as leverage and he will get here, not now… but soon, a week maybe; and if you are not ready for it, he's going to wipe you down. What he did at Storybrooke was just a taste."

Folding her arms to her chest, Regina turned to Emma. "If you are so certain, then why don't you two leave the fuck out of here? Why don't you go to that creepy place you wanted to get in the first place and just let us deal with our own shit."

Lifting her shoulders up and letting them drop, the blonde woman sighed. "Maybe we are tired of running, maybe we don't want to just sit in Eden waiting for Gold to get there and destroy it too because trust me, Regina, he will get there eventually and do the same thing. The man is like a plague, worse than the dead, and he goes from one place to another, infiltrating it, studying it, and then taking it down."

After saying that, Emma turned her head and looked at how Killian was arguing with the rest of their group about what to do.

"He's not a bad man, Killian… he can be a huge asshole but he really is not a bad man."

"He stabbed Robin." Regina said, her tone cold and detached.

"He saved you two, and Eden, because if Gold's men would have taken a hold of you in that field or even found that boat, things would have gone to shit in a matter of nothing. We drove them away, we even tried to lure them far from Storybrooke; but they already knew… they already had a guy in and them striking your place was already imminent."

Pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue, Regina blinked a couple of times. "What do you mean they had a guy in, you mean Graham?"

"Not sure about his name, but it was the one with him outside of Storybrooke."

"Son of a bitch. You are saying that by the time Robin and I ran into you, he already betrayed us?"

"Yeah, and we could have told people at Storybrooke if it wasn't because as soon as we got there, we were locked in and never allowed out. If we would have seen him roaming around, we would have told someone about how he was under Gold's spell already."

Gasping because if that was true, maybe Graham turning on them wasn't necessarily her fault. Sure, maybe it played a little part since she had been giving him the cold shoulder for more than a couple of months by the time she left Storybrooke with Robin, but at the same time, it opened a window to the possibility of him betraying them just because he was a fucking little weasel.

When he sneaked up on her and said what he said, the betrayal was already done…

The fucking asshole!

She had spent a fucking day blaming herself for Storybrooke, for Jefferson and the fact that Mal was still nowhere to be found. Fuck, she turned Robin away because she felt too much guilt about the whole thing and it had been all for nothing?

"Anyway, was Eden really that creepy?"

Opening her mouth and then blinking a few times, Regina looked at Robin. He was finally smoking his cigarette, which was a thing she didn't particularly like, but she liked even less the way he had completely turned his chair to the side so that when looking straight, she wouldn't be the first thing he saw.

He was focused on the discussion taking place, and for some reason that felt like a punch to her gut.

"I'm not sure… I... I need to go."

After saying that, Regina rushed out of the building as if in a trance, her legs taking her to an undefined spot near the fence while her mind swirled and swimmed in a turbulent ocean of questions.

She didn't know what to do or what to think, and the sensation of being so lost was overwhelming.

That's how Samdi found her later on, all riled up, pacing along the fence and chewing the inside of her cheek until the tender spot was almost raw

"Hey, you're gonna wear the soil out or what?"

Looking up and feeling her eyes grow wide, Regina blew out a breath. "Are you going to find Gold? Because I want to go."

Letting his lips curve into a smirk, the man lifted a hand and tried to touch her cheek. "Well that's the way to go… I knew I could count with you."

Before he could touch her, Regina slapped his hand down. "Don't get the wrong idea, I want to go because I want to kill Graham myself."

And sure, killing was something she didn't do unless it was completely necessary but fuck it all, she was going to enjoy killing Graham so much she could almost taste it. Not only for playing her, but because the fuckery that he did to their friends. To Neal and Jefferson and the rest of them all.

Licking his lips, Samdi took a step closer to her. It made her have to lift her chin up, her eyes burning into his.

"I would go right now if it was for me, but your little boyfriend back there and his asskissers say we have to wait, and so we will wait. Unless you want to go right now, just you and me. Trust me, if we do, I'll make sure you get Graham and I'll get that Gold…"

Twisting her lips, Regina groaned because yes, she wanted to do it, she wanted to go and do what needed to be done; but at the same time, she felt like she needed to stick around and try to talk things out with Robin.

True, it was probably going to be in vain as she probably ruined whatever chance she had with him by being such an ass, but she at least wished she could tell him that everything that she said the night before had been real and definitely not a mistake.

Also, this was Samdi and no, she couldn't go with him, not when she wanted him as near as she would want a walker.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'll go anywhere alone with you."

"Oh come on, that can't be true and you know it. You never complained before. In fact, the way I remember it and trust me, I remember it crystal clear, you quite like it. We had it good, didn't we?"

Running her tongue over the edge of her teeth because the man being his narcissistic self was too good to let it pass, Regina used the words he once used against her and threw them in his face. "Yeah, it was good… when I thought you were the last man on earth. But you are not, and looking back at it, you were not even that good."

With that said and making sure to keep her smirk right on point, Regina turned around and started to walk away.

Her intention had been going back to her room at Ursula's and think about what she should really do now… but before she could take more than three steps, she saw Robin walking towards the gate, and even thought he passed by without sparing her a glance, she knew that there was no way he didn't see her, or Samdi for that matter.

He acted like he didn't though, making it straight towards his bike, which happened to be too close to them.

"Robin." His name came out of her mouth before she could stop herself from saying it out loud, and without caring too much about how pathetic she looked, she walked after him, catching him as he climbed on his bike. "Are you leaving?"

"Uh-huh." He mumbled, still not looking at her. He did, however, start the bike's ignition, his intention of moving on clear.

Wanting to say all she needed to say before it was too late, the brunette ran a hand down her hair, her eyes searching for his elusive ones. "You shouldn't be on your own out there, it's late."

At her words, Robin finally looked at her, his face a stoic mask that gave nothing away. "Being on my own is what I do best, it's no big deal."

"Listen-" She began to say, a sigh escaping her when he arched an eyebrow in return.

"What do you want Regina?"

Dropping her hand down and looking up to the night sky for a couple of seconds, the brown eyed woman felt her shoulders slumping. "I want to talk to you. I know you probably don't want to, but I do need to tell you something."

Closing the choke level as the engine warmed a bit more, Robin sucked the inside of his cheek into his mouth. "Nah, I don't think so. You could end up saying things you'll regret later… and we don't want that, right?"

"Robin-." Feeling the words slap her hard, Regina swallowed on dry.

"Your guy is leaving, maybe you should go to him instead."

Not having to look to know he was talking about Samdi, Regina reached up to touch his hand, her thumb running over his knuckles as he kept the intensity of his icy-cold stare glued to her. "He's not my guy."

"Yeah, whatever… you just do you okay, and I'll do me."

With that said, he looked away and without any more preambles, he left, riding his bike into the night as she was left there, looking after him, her hand hanging on empty air and her heart heavy.

That night, as she laid in bed with a mixture of anger and regrets gnawing on her soul, Regina tried to convince herself that Robin going away was the best thing that could happen to her and that instead of beating herself down about how things ended between them, that she should use all that energy to prepare for what was coming.

She didn't know how or when, but she was going to contribute in their group's effort to end the Gold menace and she needed to be top of her game for that, both mentally and physically.

Especially, if her plan included the downfall of Graham.

So yes, it was with that in mind that she almost convinced herself that moping over Robin was pretty much wasting her time, and that falling for him the way she did had been a momentary lapse of judgement made by circumstances that were out of her hands. But the truth was that she could only fall asleep when at first thing in the morning, she heard the distinctive sound of his bike roaring as he came back.

For the next three days, falling asleep to the sound of him returning was the rule that spoiled her nights, and even though she wouldn't see him or even hear from him, it was a relief to know he was still around. That even though he would spend the night away, looking for David or who the hell knew doing what, that he would always return by morning, safe and in one piece.

It wasn't much, but it was something she unknowingly and maybe desperately clung to.

Things remained like that until the fourth day, when Hyperion Heights came to the consensus of how and when they were going to take on Gold, and yes, it was going to be the very next day.

She failed going to the meeting to plan it all though, as she didn't want to run into him and do something stupid like she ended up doing last time she had him face to face. That was why she decided that since she was on the team that was going to go out and attack, that she was going to rely on Merida to tell her everything about the plan.

Meanwhile, she was trying to keep busy in whatever way she could. At least that was, until Ursula came to disturb the peace of mind she had been working so hard to create for herself.

"Did you know that Robin is here?"

Pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue and squinting her eyes so that she could get a better look at what she was doing, Regina paid no attention whatsoever to the words the other woman just spat out. She didn't even look up, she just firmly tightened the handlebar to the body of the bicycle she was working on and gave it a couple of jerks to make sure it wasn't going to move. When she was satisfied with the results, she adjusted her cap and changed her attention to the tires; as she needed to make sure they were perfectly placed over the rims.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Again, she said nothing because what could she possibly say to that? That she had known about his presence way before the gate was even opened? That she knew because even from miles away she could recognize the sound of his bike anywhere, anytime?

"Regina." The other woman hissed, and God, why wasn't she doing something productive instead of bothering her? "I'm telling you, don't try to ignore me, because I swear I'm going to kick your ass so bad people will have to pick up your pieces until next year."

From her spot sitting down on the grass, the brunette could detect the impatience in Ursula's voice and she knew that she wasn't going to drop it just because she was trying to ignore her, so, against her will, she decided to reply.

"I heard you just fine, I just don't know what you want me to say."

"Well, I am not expecting you to tell me anything. I am however expecting you to go and talk to him. You know, just like you said you were going to do."

Rolling her eyes and placing the wrench she had been using for the bike assembly frenzy she had submerged into, Regina finally looked up to see the way Ursula was standing a few feet away from her. She was with her arms folded to her chest and a look on her face that talked purely business. In other words, she looked like she was going to annoy the hell out of her with the same subject as all the previous times, Robin Locksley.

Not that she could complain much because that one was on her as yeah... one night after her fallout with the man, Ursula had walked in on her when she wasn't feeling herself and in a bonding moment she wasn't sure how it started, they ended up drinking and talking the night away.

She told Ursula a lot of things that she wouldn't say to anyone when sober, and the woman heard it all. She was good at it, at listening, and in her drunken stupor, Regina ended up talking about everything.

She talked about Mal and Jefferson, about Storybrooke and Robin… God, she talked a lot about Robin and about why she didn't like opening herself up. She wasn't sure how or why, but in the middle of all that talking, it could have been that she ended up promising that she was going to talk to him and try to fix things.

Again, how and why that came to be, she didn't remember, but the thing was that the woman hadn't let go of her throat ever since. What she had done, was chew her ass about her lack of fulfilling that promise every single chance she got.

"Well…" She began to say with a shrug. "I'm busy right now so…."

Scoffing, Ursula threw her arms to her sides. "Doing what, putting bikes together for the kids? Regina, you don't even like kids."

"What are you talking about, I like kids. In fact I like them so much that I want them to have the closest thing to a normal childhood and for that guess what they need? Bikes."

"Bullshit, we don't even have so many kids here."

Looking around, Regina saw at least eleven bikes lying around her. Some finished, some needed a little more work. "Well… I got a few more to spare..." Besides there were bikes of all sizes so who said only the kids could benefit from them.

"Alright, Mrs. Santa Claus, what about before this little bicycle project? Because the way I see it, you keep making up excuses to evade him. So why don't you just come out and admit that you are too chickenshit to do as you promised?"

Snorting in everything but amusement, Regina brushed the dirt on her hands against her pants and focused her eyes on the other woman. "I'm not making myself busy, I'm making myself useful. Maybe if you did the same, you wouldn't waste so much time nosing in my shit."

Blinking a couple of times, Ursula scoffed. "Do you remember what you told me that night when I found you crying your eyes out?"

Taking in a deep breath and keeping in her face a smile she wasn't feeling, Regina shrugged. "I was drunk, I talked about a bunch of shit and as it happens, I can't remember all of it."

"You said that happiness was an illusion and that you didn't want to fool yourself into believing you could finally be in a good place in life because sooner or later, it was all going to end in the worst way possible and that you didn't think you could handle seeing it crumble at your feet. Well, you want to know what I think? I think that you are never going to be in that good place and not because it isn't possible, but because you are sabotaging your own shot at happiness. You Regina, are your own worst enemy and it makes me so mad because there are so many of us here that would give everything to have the shot that you have, to have the one you love right here at reaching distance. But we can't because they are dead and by God that if I, or any of the others had the chance to go back, I can assure you we would do it just to spend every minute that we can with the people we love. You that have Robin right here… and you are fucking letting him go."

Stopping there and wiping at her eyes, Ursula shrugged. She didn't say anything for a while and Regina was sure that she was going to swirl around and leave. But she didn't, once a bit more composed she went on.

"The only one wasting her time here is you, and you are doing it in the most cowardly way."

"Just drop it Ursula, really." Regina said at last. Her tone wasn't harsh though, it came off tired and defeated.

"At least tell him why you cut him off. I think we all know how Robin blames himself for everything that goes wrong and he probably thinks it was something he did. Don't you think he at least deserves to know? Tomorrow it could be a little too late, given the fact of what you will all do. So..."

Pushing her cap so low that half her face ended up hidden, Regina blew out a breath. She knew Ursula was right in everything; she had been keeping herself busy in order to keep her mind occupied and far from any thought that reminded her of Robin and yes, she definitely has been delaying an encounter with him. But it wasn't necessarily because she was afraid, but because she didn't know what to say.

She didn't even know how she felt about him and in her mind, she needed to at least figure it out first. Sure, she cared about him a lot but how could she not? After everything they've been through together, it was impossible not to feel a certain bond, but that didn't necessarily mean love.

Besides, all the fuss and he probably didn't even care. Robin was aloof as hell most of the time and that she decided to cut whatever it was that they had probably didn't affect him as much as it did her.

Sure, she knew that even if that was the case, she still needed to have a talk with him and the more she waited, the less probable it was going to be that she actually went for it.

So who knew, why not do it now and get it over with? At least that way she could get Ursula off her throat. She could even keep it simple, a 'sorry I was a jerk, it wasn't you, it was me blah blah blah' and that was it, give it closure.

"Okay… I can do that, if it will make you stop chewing my ass." That way and trying not to think much about it or else she would never do it, Regina got to her feet and started roaming around. Searching for Robin so that she would have that talk with him once and for all…

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Hyperion Heights wasn't as big as Storybrooke has been, so the lack of space made it easier for Regina to know who was where at any given time.

She knew Mary Margaret would spend her days at the infirmary, that Samdi had taken it upon himself to patrol the walls at all hours of the day, and that Henry would spend long hours by himself, reading or watching the younger kids play by the back gardens or sometimes, trying to get a sneak peek out of whatever the grownup were talking.

She also knew that Sidney had taken into hiding in a small room at Whale's place, that August and Merida were always at the storage, sorting all the stuff Killian brought over from what appeared to be one of Gold's own posts, and that Ruby was always guarding the gate, a rifle glued to her arm as she kept on the lookout.

So yes, she knew all of that, the same way she knew that when Robin was around, he was either at the infirmary with Mulan, or talking strategy with Lancelot and Philip.

True, she hadn't exactly seen him in any of those places since she had been avoiding an encounter with him as if he was the plague himself, but she always knew where he was and when… at least most of the time, she knew.

That day, just around noon, she knew him to be at the auditorium talking about the next day's plans, but because that meeting was over long ago and everyone scattered to go on with the preparations, she ruled out the possibility of him being there. She still went, slowly walking by the poor excuse of a meeting place the community had, just in case.

He didn't find him there, or with Mulan, and because she knew he wouldn't be at his room just yet, she went to the only other option that came to her mind. A vacant spot behind the infirmary that the locals apparently gave up on taking care of and was by now a wild small garden that nobody seemed to even notice.

At least, nobody but Robin, because she knew he sometimes liked to dwell there, on his own.

That was exactly where she found him, sitting over an old picnic table, his feet on the bench as he sat on top of it. He seemed to be engrossed in cutting a small piece of wood with a pocket knife, so it wasn't until she was close enough, that he looked up to her.

It was only a passing glance though, his head tilted up when he felt her coming, but when he saw her, his eyes only lingered for a couple of seconds before going back to what he was doing.

It was at that moment that she knew things were not going to be as easy as she thought. First because the way he looked away only meant that he was salty and didn't want to be bothered, and second, because she hadn't realized how much she missed him until she saw him so close.

Sure, to a certain extent she knew she missed him; after all, the man was a constant in her mind and the way she would keep herself extremely busy was a way to try and shut that down. The extra shifts at the gate, meeting with Merida and Ruby to practice their fighting skills, sitting with Henry under an apple tree as she heard him complain about people taking him for a kid when he claimed to be almost an adult.

At the end, the truth was that everything had been in vain, the moping and hiding and the guilt, because just one look at him was enough to put her back on ground zero.

Now she was there, mentally unprepared for a talk with him. But it was what it was, so clearing her throat and wiping the palm of her hands to her pants, she spoke. "Do you want to talk?"

Without looking up, Robin kept cutting at the wood. "No."

Having a feeling that she started with the wrong foot, Regina crossed her arms to her chest and twisted her lips in what could be considered a petulant manner. It was a defense mechanism she has mastered over the years, and she was desperately using it in that moment. "Well, can I talk?"

Robin gave a nonchalant shrug. "You can do whatever the bloody hell you want to." His words, even though kind of cutting, only made Regina think on how she had even missed his voice. The way he would talk low in that accent that felt as if it has been ripped straight from the deepest parts of him always had had an effect on her and even to that day, that hadn't changed.

But she didn't come to muse about all the things she missed of him so clearing her throat again, she walked closer to climb onto the picnic table. She sat close enough to him, but she made sure not to touch him.

"I'm an asshole." She said, plain and simple, thinking that at least recognizing her own faults was a good place to start as any other.

And really, she said it because she really was one, always has been. All her life, she has been catalogued as bitchy, more often than not abrasive and she carried an attitude that would always get her in trouble. Her mother said it was the Latina in her, that it was in her blood to be edgy and bold, but the truth was that she was the way she was, because she was an asshole.

And this world she was now living in has done her no favors in appeasing that unsavory trait in her. It aggravated it, if anything...

"I shouldn't have ended things between us the way I did and I'm sorry."

Without sparing her a look, Robin twisted his lips. "Don't sweat it. It was no big deal, we were just screwing around."

At those words, Regina lowered her head and with one of her hands, she pushed the brim of her cap lower. What Robin just said should be her cue to leave, after all she didn't come to him to try and fix things, no… she just wanted to apologize and as it seemed, the man hadn't even cared enough to consider what she did a problem. But it was as if her ass was glued to the table and her legs wouldn't cooperate in helping her get up.

Straightening her back, Regina looked down to her hands and considered her next words, watching as Robin was still using the pocket knife to massacre the piece of wood and how he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.

"I got scared, you know. I… never told you this, but earlier during that day… before Storybrooke was attacked, Graham came to me and said some things that later on made me think he betrayed everyone because of me… and I was sure that as soon as you knew about it, that you were going to blame me too and hate me for it. I was feeling guilty… and I was upset over Jefferson and Neal and all the others, and I didn't deal with it as I should have."

At the confession, Robin stopped what he was doing with his hands and for a couple of seconds that seemed to drag into an eternity, he looked at her. He said nothing though.

"I don't mean to use it as an excuse because it is not. I know you were hurting too and dealing with your own stuff, so it was a shitty thing… you know, what I said."

Humming, Robin arched an eyebrow, his silence making her feel anxious as hell and way out of place.

That's why she needed to stop, because she was rambling and probably looking like a fool...

"I guess I just... wanted you to know it wasn't anything you did, that it was all on me."

"Like I said, don't sweat it."

Nodding and the simplicity of his response falling heavy in her heart, Regina chewed hard on her lips, her eyes glued to his.

Yes, she should definitely stop things there and then, try to keep a little bit of dignity on herself and leave. But she couldn't, there were still things she wanted to know and others she wanted to lay out.

"Was it really just about that for you, sex?"

Keeping his eyes on her and shrugging in a way that screamed apathetic, Robin pinched the corner of his lips with the edge of his teeth.

"It was for you so why the hell couldn't it have been for me too?"

Her left leg leaned a little into him and her knee lightly brushed against his. He didn't pull away and she wondered why she was still there when he was obviously trying to cut her off.

But it was just that Ursula's words kept dancing inside her skull and the logic of not getting attached felt off.

It was like the other woman told her the night when she ended up pouring her heart out: the world they were living in was an uncertain one, and a lot of things could happen. Death and pain were constantly breathing on their necks and yes, it was hard and scary to think you could lose people. But instead of doing it all to remain away, wouldn't it be better to milk every opportunity for everything that it had, instead of backing off just because she was too afraid to lose it?

Yes, love and happiness could come as furtive as a butterfly fluttering around you, it could be ephemeral… but what if it lasted longer? What if it lasted forever?

Because what was forever? It could be in a few months or years… it could be tomorrow.

"It wasn't just that for me."

Back at abusing the piece of wood to the point where it almost disappeared from his hands, Robin scoffed.

"Then what was it?" He asked, throwing what was left of the wood as far as it could get so he could now focus on her.

"I don't know, but it wasn't just sex. I really… really wish I could say it was just that but then I would be lying. I didn't ask for it, didn't even want it, but you know, shit happens and you end up feeling whatever it is that you feel."

After the quick ramble, her knee pressed a bit more into his and her fingers itched to move towards his hand so that she could touch him.

She didn't, as she didn't want to push it.

"You could've talked to me, you know? About Graham." His tone, very different from the cutting one he has been using since the beginning of their conversation, made her look away.

"I know." Blowing out a breath and lifting her hands up in the air just to let them fall back into her lap, Regina shrugged and focused her eyes up into the sky. "I wanted to… I even planned on doing it first thing in the morning. But then I woke up and I guess I just freaked out. I…" Shrugging once again and realizing that she hadn't come to him to say this, she closed her eyes. "Ursula says I'm my own worst enemy and maybe she's right. I don't know how to open up and even when I want to, all I do is close up even more until I'm a clenched fist, and when I get like that, I don't know how to loosen up."

Hell, she didn't even know how to be vulnerable, and that morning she froze, not only because she wanted to open up to him, but because in a way she already did, when she ended up crying and telling him how much she needed him and that was something she swore never to feel again.

But she did, and the thought of caring so much and then having the possibility of him turning her down, was too much for her to bear.

"For a long time, maybe since this whole thing with the rising dead began and I lost… everyone, I started feeling this sense of consuming anger that took hold of all that I was. It was exhausting and maybe I wore myself out with it until it switched into an overpowering emptiness that wouldn't let go of me. I walked and did things on automatic and I just went along with everything. I felt defeated, sometimes angry and... it was like nothing mattered. But then things started with you and it all began to change. It didn't feel like I was an empty shell anymore and when it hit me, I freaked out because I didn't want to feel anything. I didn't want to because it was safer that way. Feeling only meant I was opening myself up for the possibility of even more loss and I didn't think I would be able to handle that again."

Blinking her eyes open, she looked at him. He was just there, listening and staring intently at her.

"I don't expect you to understand because I don't even understand myself. I'm just messed up."

"Aren't we all?"

Yes, they were…

"I'm sorry I dragged you into my shit." Her hand got nearer to his and their knuckles touched.

"I told you not to sweat it. You kicking me to the curb is hardly the worst thing that has happened to me. But I do get you, you know, because I don't get close to people either. I never had and you know why? Because ever since I can remember, I knew I could only count on myself to get my shit together."

His tone was back at cutting, even bitter, and it made Regina close her eyes.

"I had to fend on my own even when I was a lad no older than Henry and that fucking messes you up. You've been having it rough since the walkers showed up? Well I've been having it rough all my life. My mum sure as hell didn't count for anything, at least not when my father beat the crap out of me. I bolted out of there as you did as soon as I could too. Ever since, I've been losing people left and right, people I loved and cared for and yes, that included a woman who had been carrying my child. I watched her turn, and I had to take her and the child out, and even after that, I had to suck it up and watch people, good people that didn't deserve to die before I did go. But it's as you say, shit happens. Sometimes you can't just have it good for long and even when I knew that, I still let you in. I trusted you… Regina, I opened up to you, and that got me nowhere either so yeah, I get you."

"Robin-" Blinking the tears forming in her eyes away, Regina began to talk, her heart dropping to her feet and her voice trembling. She couldn't say anything though, because he quickly cut her off.

"I'm not mad at you so just forget it, we all gotta do what we gotta do to keep from hurting, right?"

Moving her hand to his, the brown-eyed woman intertwined her fingers with his. For a few seconds they remained like that and she just looked at their joined hands, her thumb running lazy patterns over his skin. "It doesn't have to end."

Moving her eyes to him, Regina waited for any kind of reaction to her words… she didn't get much.

"I gotta go, Mulan should be waiting by now, I'm going to take her for a walk."

"Okay." Nodding and letting go of his hand, Regina looked away.

What could she say? It was what it was, and maybe she should do like him and just move on.

It shouldn't be so hard anyway; after all, she has pulled through worse than that so it was alright. Luckily, she had many ways to keep her mind busy and crawl out of her Robin withdrawal soon enough. Besides, at least they got to talk and now that things were laid out in the open, they didn't have to be at odds with each other. Who knew what could happen along the road.

If they survived the following day, of course.

"I'll see you around."

With that said, Robin left. It wasn't until dusk started to creep in that she found the will to move from the spot she had been sitting in. She walked without purpose, circling the infirmary so that she didn't have to pass by the bicycles, and once she went past the gate, she headed straight towards Ursula's.

She dwelt on the woman's kitchen for a bit, forcing a piece of hard bread down her throat, but when she couldn't get it to go down smoothly, she chased it down with a mouthful of water and decided to call it out a night.

Tomorrow was going to be a long rough day, so the best she could do was try to force herself to sleep. That's why after refreshing some, she went straight towards her room.

That's where she found him, sitting on her bed, elbows resting on his tights and his face hidden behind the palm of his hands.

He only moved when the door closed, dropping his hands and getting to his feet.

Regina just watched through warm eyes that felt too huge for her face and when he was near enough to reach for her cap and take it off, she remained frozen. She meant to ask what he was doing, but when he leaned into her and kissed her, everything slipped from her mind and she just kissed him back, and God, it was as if they never had stopped doing it.

Tilting her head to the side and parting a way for the kiss to deepen, Regina sighed, not quite believing how much she had missed the way his lips felt against hers and how addicting the taste of his tongue in her mouth felt. It was like that, without stopping the kiss that she ended up against the door, his body pressing insistently to hers and her arms around his neck.

They kissed long and deep, with him swallowing each and every one of her breaths as if they were his own. In that moment, thinking that she had wanted to give all that up felt ridiculous and senseless.

It was too good, and she wanted it for forever, however long that may be.

Feeling breathless and already delirious, Regina broke from the kiss to say his name, almost as if she needed reassurance that this was him and that she wasn't imagining it. "Robin-" She began to say, but when his lips dragged down to the spot on her neck where her pulse was beating, she forgot what she was going to say and instead closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

It was amazing. She particularly liked that for the short period of time they have been doing this, he had been apparently paying attention. Yes, she knew because he already knew what triggered her and he knew what his tongue and teeth working on that spot did to her. It worked sorcery on her, so in a matter of nothing she felt like melting against him.

"Mmm," She mumbled, the feeling of one of his hands sneaking between their bodies so that he could unbutton her pants and slid his fingers right in, making her tremble in anticipation.

He had to wrestle his way in, but he got to where he wanted to be quick enough, which was right underneath her panties. Once there he cupped her and she moaned. "Spread those legs for me."

Breathing hard through her mouth, Regina tried to give him more room. He managed with what he had and since she was wet and eager for him, twi of his fingers easily entered into her core. Lost in the moment, she sought for his lips and kissed him. The sensation was incredible and she wanted more, she probably asked for more and he complied.

He went at it for a while, his fingers working her good as her blood boiled all through her body. It was as he kissed her back, that she put her hands into motion by sliding her pants and underwear off the way.

As she did that, he added another finger and she hurried to take off his shirt. Because of that, he only managed a few thrusts before pulling out.

The rest of their clothes followed soon after, as they refused to let go of their kissing, and when a naked Robin lifted her high enough so that her legs could circle his hips, he entered her in a swift movement.

Gasping against his mouth, Regina held onto him. Loving how everywhere his flesh was touching her felt like it was burning. Right between her legs where his erection was settled in, she was scorching.

She was done quick, he had that power over her and barely noticing how she was being banged against her door, she came, hard. Her inner muscles closing in around him and her breath hitching.

If it hadn't been because he was holding her, she would have ended in a pile of goo in the floor, and if it wasn't because his lips were silencing her moans, she would have been heard all through the community.

Instead she ended up a pile of nothing in his arms, and still, he kept going.

"I've missed this… feeling you… like this." She panted when she once again broke the kiss and looked to his face. He was fully concentrated on the task at hand and she felt entranced; but when he looked up and fixed his eyes on hers, she had to swallow on dry.

"Yeah?"

"Mm hmm" She mumbled. "I've missed you." And it was true, because even though the sex was amazing with him and she couldn't remember ever someone making her feel in the verge of loosing it every single time they fucked, she had missed more that that, she has missed all of him.

From the way it felt to fall asleep with him pressing against her, to his voice and his eyes, and right to the way he smelled. She even missed the jerk he was sometimes, and the rare chuckle that would burst out of him at times.

He owned her and he didn't even know, and even though that scared the hell out of her, it wasn't in her to push him away anymore.

"I missed this too." He admitted and tightening her legs around him so that he could go deeper, she hissed against his ear.

"Then show me… let me feel you cum inside of me." With that said, he kissed her hard and kept thrusting until his rhythm became more insistent and his kiss plain erratic. That was how she knew he was spilling into her.

Moaning, she took all he had to give and once he was finished, she dragged her lips to his chin, his cheek and even to his closed eyelids. Then she rested her forehead to his as he moved around and sat her on top of a dresser.

"Regina-" He began to say.

His tone, accompanied by the way she felt him tense, made her wonder why he came… why he did that, because his body language was telling her he was about to leave.

"Shhh." She pecked his lips. "If you are not going to stay don't say anything." No, because as little as she wanted that, the moment was too good for them to ruin it with words.

She was well aware that neither one of them were smooth with words and the last thing she wanted was for the moment to get tainted. If his reason to go to her was to look for his own kind of closure, or because he also had it in his mind that tomorrow they could both end up dead and he needed this, then why make a mess out of it by saying things that didn't matter.

She cared about him, and in his own way, he cared about her. That was all she needed to know in that moment. Even if nothing more than that night was in store for them.

When she said that, Robin chewed his lips. She had seen him do that way too many times when he was thinking about something, and as his hands slid to the back of her head and into her hair, she wondered what was going to happen now. "And what if I want to stay?"

Blinking a couple of times, Regina tilted her head to the side. Was that doubt in his eyes? Was he expecting her to kick him out once more? For some reason, that made her think about what he told her earlier on, about his story and about how he let her in for nothing, and she felt her chest tighten.

She didn't want him to feel insecure, but that was the way he was. On the outside he was tough because that was how he needed to be to get through, but deep inside, he was full of doubts and self-loathing and in a way, that made them so much alike.

Pursing her lips and brushing her knuckles down his jaw, Regina sighed. "Well… then I guess you just kiss me."

Robin nodded, and then without any more preambles, he kissed her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter has a brief talk about child abuse. Nothing graphic, but I feel I need to let you know just in case.

Standing with her arms crossed over her chest and her chin tilted up so that she could take a good look at the scene unfolding in front of her, Regina watched as if hypnotized the panorama displaying outside her window: a manifest of shivering stars that covered the distant skies with a mystic gleam that was apt to entrance the toughest one.

It looked almost magical. 

Sure, ever since the world turned, nights like that one were more often than not the rule, and she could barely remember how it was to look up and being unable to see things like this. The sky a black canvas splattered with thousands of shimmering stars, all of them shining so bright that together they illuminated their surroundings. 

Unfortunately, she rarely used her time to stop for a minute to enjoy the sight, so that night, she wanted to take it all in. 

It was stunning… the kind that would leave you speechless and make you wonder if this could be the last starry night you would ever see. 

Who knew? With the plan of taking Gold down the following day, it was possible that this could end up being her last night alive. But not wanting to think about that, she shook her head and just kept looking, focusing instead in the present.

Whatever happened tomorrow, nobody would take this night away from her. Not even her own old fears...

Taking in a deep breath and still caught with the immensity of the sky, the brunette started to rub her arms with the palm of her hands, a futile attempt at providing some warmth. It was not much, but she didn't even mind. After all, she had been standing in front of the open window for quite some time now, the chocolate brown of her orbs lost in the distance as the cold nightly breeze swirled around her. She was kind of used to the cold by then. 

Overall, it was definitely a stunning night, and if it wasn't because she had a more interesting scenery to lay her eyes upon in her bed, she would probably stay all night long there, watching as the silence of the night embraced her.

But because she was not going to do that, Regina broke out of her trance and turned around, leaving the window open and putting her feet in motion so that she could walk away.

That was how she made it to the bed, her eyes drinking on the image of _him,_ and finding herself enthralled by what she was seeing. 

Robin…

He was laying on his stomach, already asleep and barely covered by the thin blanket tangled between his legs. He looked peaceful like that, with his breathing slow and his muscles relaxed, but that didn’t take away from the fact that he also looked good enough to eat.

Without taking her eyes from him, Regina climbed on top of the bed and pressed herself to his back, her lips brushing his shoulder and then lower, right over one of his many scars. At the contact, Robin stirred and she rolled to her side, tangling her feet with his and moving her head so that her forehead was touching his.

Laying there with him felt right… finally, so she allowed the muscles of her back to relax against the soft mattress. When one of his arms came around her waist to pull her closer, she closed her eyes and sighed.

She was tired as hell, but even though she wanted nothing more than to doze off too, she also couldn't help but to muse about the fact that this was probably the first time they were both in a bed without wanting to fuck the hell out of each other. 

Sure, they did that earlier that night, twice, so their libidos were satiated and that insistent need to absorb one was tended. But sex was their common ground, how they connected, and now that it was out of their system, she was feeling unsure of how to proceed.

Yes, she guessed they still had a lot to talk about, but for now, she just wanted to enjoy this new closeness with him.

"Do you want to know something?" She asked, her eyes still closed as his breath brushed against her face like a soft caress.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, and because she now knew he wasn't sleeping, she kept on. After all, tired as she was, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. So why not put her mind at ease with some matters she wanted to cover?

"I don't remember my father."

"Lucky you." He said in one of his infamous growls. His words only motivated her to press on.

"He died when I was six, so I can't remember much of him. Anyway, my mom? She was savage. I guess she had to be, she was a single mother and me and my sister were a handful." She chuckled as she remembered those days gone by, her eyes opening to find him staring at her. "He left her loaded, my dad, so mom never had to work, but damn, we sure as hell kept her occupied. I was the youngest one and Gosh, I thought I was the big shit and that got me quite a few smacks because trust me, Cora Mills had a loose hand and she wasn't afraid to use it. She would yell at me all of the time because I had a bit of an attitude. I was sassy, I thought I owned the world and she would quickly get me off that cloud. She loved us, I don't want to give the wrong impression here, but her love had a different ring to it. Tough love, she called it. But never, not even at her worst, would she do something like this."

With that said, she moved a finger to his back and traced one of the scars. "What was this all about?"

Yes, Robin told her earlier that night, when she asked, that his father was the one who left those marks on him. But he didn’t elaborate more than that and before she could insist, he was kissing her and making her shut up.

She caught him half asleep now, so shrugging, the England native chewed on the inside of his lips, apparently ready to talk. "My father had a quick temper and little patience for my imprudent arse. He got worse after my mum packed her things and left us. So even when I just tried to stay clear of him, he got me good this one time. I think I was around fourteen, during summer and there was no school to get a couple of free meals so I just… went out and about doing stupid shit. I had these friends that were not exactly the best company, but they were good when it came to surviving in the worst part of town. They had it as bad as me home, so we were hungry, bitter, and with too much time in our hands. Long story short, we broke into some houses, stole a few things here and there and we got caught. My old man didn’t like being called by the police so he whipped the hell out of me with a belt.”

"That is awful, Robin." She couldn't even begin to imagine how that was for him. At fourteen, all she wanted in life were bigger boobs. By then she was already crushing over boys and in her mind, that improvement would help her a lot. Never could she imagine at that age having her back whipped raw, let alone by the one person who was supposed to care and look out for you.

"I won’t whine and moan about it now. That was life for me. See, told you I never got it easy." As if what he just said was the most natural thing in the world, Robin rolled to his side and moved his fingers from her waist and straight under her shirt, letting his hand just rest over her breast. "As for your mom smacking you for being mouthy, tsk, I like what that mouth does." With that said, he pressed his lips to hers and unable to help it, she smiled.

"I bet you do." She was also sure that her mom would roll in her grave if she ever knew the kind of things Robin liked her to do on him with her mouth. That was if she was dead or even in a grave, truth was that she didn't even know. Not that it mattered now, so lifting her head a little so she could meet him halfway, she kissed him back.

They kissed without any hurries, taking their time, his thumb moving in circles over her already hardened nipple and her own hand running through his hair.

Shifting a little so that she could also be on her side and facing him, Regina let the moment drag her with the possibilities at hand. True, they were kissing almost languidly, but she knew she was going to end up wanting more, and more he would give.

What could she say? She had missed him, and who knew if they would be able to hold each other like this again. For all they knew, anything could happen the following day, so they had to make the best of what they could that night.

Probably thinking the same, Robin shifted his position, hovering over her and accommodating his weight between her legs. They kissed like that a while longer, tongues swirling around each other and her pulse accelerating. 

They didn’t do much more than that though, and when they finally pulled away, she closed her eyes and hugged him hard. “I don’t want it to be tomorrow. I want to stay here, forever… with you.”

Kissing the tip of her nose, Robin cleared his throat. “I know.” Once that was said, he kept kissing her face tenderly, and once again she wondered… what if this was their last time.

Wanting to push those thoughts aside, the brunette sought for his lips again. She found him willing enough, and after a lot more kissing, he started to push the blanket off of him so that they could be completely naked and pressed against each other.

They touched without inhibitions, Robin grabbing her hips to pull her closer, and Regina sliding her hands down his back to feel him nice and hot against her. 

It was all going nice and in a way controlled, but then Robin rubbed his erection between her folds and Regina couldn’t help but to let out a needy moan. Not like Robin minded. He kept doing his thing, teasing her, using his hand to guide his cock over her clit, close to her entrance and then pushing just enough to make her feel the pressure.

The tip of his cock was in her, but he wouldn’t let it go further than that. No… when her hips would lift, seeking that ultime push from his part, he could draw back, his eyes dark and intense never leaving hers.

“Jesus Robin”

Leaning forward, he caught her bottom lip between his teeth, pulling lightly and then running the tip of his tongue over the moist flesh. “I don’t know how you make me want you so much… so bad.”

“I want you too-”

Not wasting any more time, Robin went back to kissing her, his tongue pushing into her mouth as his hips moved closer to her. He slid in her easily, his girth stretching her in that delicious way that made her eyes roll.

"We won’t leave this place until you’re properly fucked. Is that alright with you?" Robin asked darkly against her ear when he was all the way settled in her. The pressure made her shiver, and when she moaned that yes, that it was okay, he withdrew almost all the way out so that he could slowly go back in. The feeling was almost electrical, making her whole skin feel alive with sensation. 

Sucking in a breath, Regina moved her hands so that she could touch as much of him as she could, and she just had to gasp as he kept slowly driving into her.

She didn’t think the whole thing was going to make her cum again and she wasn’t going to push for it, but she still loved the way she was being filled completely by him. That was why she leaned forward and pressed against him, searching for his lips so she could kiss him again. 

She just wanted the contact and to absorb all of him. She would be content with just that.

But then, as his tongue caressed hers and he began to thrust into her with a quicker rhythm, his hand slid between their bodies and he started to manipulate her clit. That, with the sensation of him and his scent and his touch swallowing her whole, made her breath catch in her throat.

It felt good, so good that her hips started to move under him. Meeting him thrust for thrust, her stomach tensing with the need to just cum.

With his fingers digging into the flesh of her hips, Robin groaned, his lips parted and his breathing ragged. “I want to feel you come in my cock. Will you?”

"Yeah..." And really, she didn’t think she would have to fake the hell out of it as she would have done with other men. First, because he was making her desire soar with his touch and the way he was filling her, and second, because this was Robin and she wanted to be crystal clear in all aspects with him.

“And you won’t ever try to push me away again, right? Because I didn’t like that.”

“I won’t-” She shook her head to give some emphasis, as she was unable to utter another word. She just moaned brokeny, the sound of flesh against flesh deafening in her ears. It was just too much… how his hips would force her legs to spread even wider for him, how he was expertly working her clit, and how he was reaching so deep into her she was sure they had become one and the same.

With every thrust, her pleasure continued to increase. All until the pressure building inside her belly exploded and it escaped through her groin.

“Oh my God.” She moaned out loud, her eyes closing and her hips shooting up. “Oh… fuck… don’t stop.”

“Shit, Regina…” Robin kissed her, his tongue rolling against hers as he swallowed down the rest her moans. 

As she rode her released down, he never stopped thrusting into her, his cock sending these amazing stabs of pleasure as she came hard, spasming and trashing underneath him. It was crazy, but he made her feel delirious enough to feel like she was floating. 

“Was that good?”

“Yeah…” Regina moaned, wrapping her legs around him to make him go deeper.

“Shit... I’m going to cum too if I keep like this… you feel so good.”

“Mmm, yeah cum in me… let me feel you… so good.”

Groaning, Robin moved both his hands to her hips and pinning her down in place, he let go as well. He throbbed warmly inside of her, hissing against her mouth as he spilled inside of her. 

As that happened, Regina held him, taking all he had to give until he collapsed against her. Spent.

“Fuck Robin. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get out of this bed. You killed me here, you know… I can’t even feel my legs.”

He scoffed, breathing hard, but he was still unable to say a word.

Lifting her hand so that she could rest it to his cheek, Regina guided him back to her lips and kissed him. She kissed him slowly, her tongue touching his and then letting him take control of it. As they did that, it came into her mind that in an ideal world, she would tell him right there and then that she loved him, and he would answer with a ‘me too’. But reality had a way of cheapening things and she didn't think it was appropriate at that moment.

After everything that happened between them in the last few days, she wasn't sure if an admission of that magnitude would freak him out, and she didn't want to ruin the moment.

Besides sometimes it wasn't necessary to say certain things so that another would know, sometimes people just knew. Actions spoke louder than words, and she was pretty sure theirs were loud enough for the other to understand…

So she just let it go and simply kissed him.

He was still inside of her when a knock to her door made them both climb down from their daze.

“Um, guys… I hate to interrupt what sounded like a great time… but I think you should like… get… dressed or whatever and come and talk in my living room. Something happened and I think you should know.”

Blinking several times and knowing that her friend’s words could only mean trouble, Regina closed her eyes.

“Oh, and by the way.” Ursula said from the other side of the door. “ Samdi is here… so yeah… I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Really, Samdi?” Robin whispered in her ear, his eyebrows arching.

On her part, Regina just slapped her face. “Shit… one night… one night of peace was all I wanted… and I couldn’t even have that.”

Kissing her lips briefly, Robin groaned. “Come on, you know what they say. There ain’t no rest for the wicked, so let’s go see what that asshole wants.” With that said, he rolled off of her and without giving it to much thought, he grabbed a towel and started to wipe himself clean.

When he was done, he passed it to Regina, and even though she grabbed it, all she could think about was, ‘what now…’

TBC


End file.
